Terror is an American hardcore punk band from Los Angeles, formed in 2002. The band has undergone several line-up changes, all overseen by founding members Scott Vogel (lead vocals) and Nick Jett (drums). Its current lineup also features guitarists Martin Stewart and Jordan Posner, as well as bassist Chris Linkovich. The band has released eight studio albums – the most recent of which, Pain Into Power, was released in May 2022. The band are noted as one of the most influential modern bands within beatdown hardcore and hardcore punk, with Stereogum describing Terror as "an institution within their genre".[3]
History
Terror was formed in February 2002, by vocalist Scott Vogel, guitarist Todd Jones, drummer Nick Jett, and bass guitarist Matt Smith; the group remained a four-piece until September 2002.[4][5] The band only came up with its name in April 2002, after its first shows were booked, opening for Death Threat, American Nightmare, and Striking Distance's on four of the bands' West Coast tour dates, spanning May 15–19, 2002.[4][6] Before playing those shows, Terror played a warm-up show, opening for Diehard Youth at Pat's Warehouse in Ventura, California on April 26, 2002.[4][5]
Their debut album One with the Underdogs sold over 40,000 copies. They have toured throughout Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Korea, Mexico, and South America.[7] Their sophomore album, Always the Hard Way reached No. 10 on Billboard Heatseekers and No. 19 on the Top Independent Records chart.[8]
Before Terror, vocalist Scott Vogel sang for Slugfest, Despair, and for Buffalo, New York-based metalcore act Buried Alive in the mid-1990s.[9] Drummer Nick Jett and ex-lead guitarist Todd Jones were members of the well-known hardcore band Carry On (who had releases on Bridge Nine and Teamwork Records). Richmond, Virginia's David Wood is well known as the vocalist of his hometown hardcore band Down to Nothing. Carl Schwartz, formerly of Sworn Vengeance, recorded much of Always the Hard Way after quitting the band to front First Blood full-time.
Live by the Code, originally due out in 2012, was pushed back to April 2013, released by Victory Records on CD and by Reaper Records on vinyl. It was the band's first time charting on the Billboard 200, peaking at No. 121, selling 3,177 copies in its first week.[citation needed] It was also No. 1 on the Heatseekers chart and No. 28 on Independent Albums.[citation needed] A total of six music videos for tracks off of Live by the Code have been released: "Live by the Code", "The Most High", "I'm Only Stronger", "Hard Lessons", "Shot of Reality", and "Cold Truth".[10][11][12][13][14][15]
On January 3, 2015, Terror were in the studio recording their sixth full-length album, The 25th Hour, set to be released on Victory Records.[16][17] Pre-orders for The 25th Hour were announced on June 30, 2015, along with the albums August 7 release date and a stream for the single "The Solution" which premiered exclusively on Noisey.[18][19]
Terror's seventh album, Total Retaliation, was released on September 28, 2018.[20] This was followed in March 2021 by Trapped in a World, which saw the band re-record several songs from across their career live in-studio as part of what were billed the "Trapped in a World Sessions".[21] These sessions saw the band reunite with founding lead guitarist Todd Jones, who oversaw production and contributed guitar parts. Jones retained this role for the band's eighth album Pain Into Power, which was released on May 6, 2022.[3]
