Terrorizer
Darker Days Ahead

The Terrorizer, seminal Grind/Death band born in 1987, return after a full 17 years to present us with a brand-new full-length album that will attempt to qualitatively match the legendary "World Downfall," dated 1989. The lineup is no longer the original one, which included Oscar Garcia on vocals, Pete "Commando" Sandoval on drums, David Vincent on bass, and Jesse Pintado (R.I.P.) on guitar; for the recording of this "Darker Days Ahead," Anthony Rezhawk and Tony Norman have been introduced, respectively on vocals and bass, replacing the "World Downfall" period members.

After the necessary introduction, let's get to the actual review to understand if this important return is just a fading attempt to replicate the debut album or a truly effective record. The opening of the dances is entrusted to the short intro titled "Inevitable", preparation for the first proper song of the album: "Darker Days Ahead", the title track, immediately shows that Terrorizer are back to do damage, compact riffing, very violent and with great participation from Sandoval behind the skins. If you started headbanging, it will be hard to stop, indeed the following track, titled "Crematorium", is a violent and very engaging blast, with a very good refrain, marked by Rezhawk's powerful voice.
Slightly more considered is "Fallout", a fluctuating track with a powerful and claustrophobic guitar riff and high-impact accelerations, a truly successful song overall. "Doomed Forever" is another track where, at certain points, you can catch your breath thanks to the slowdowns that subsequently explode in overpowering outbursts. Overall a good song, but inferior to the previous one. Here we come to a truly remarkable piece, the mighty "Mayhem", supported by a devastating rhythm section and fine guitar riffs, definitely spot-on, truly exciting Rezhawk when, with incredible fury, repeats Mayhem, shredding the listener's eardrums without any mercy. The seventh track, titled "Blind Army", is different from the others, supported by a cadenced and very catchy Pintado riff, really an episode of excellent quality, which in its overpowering stride gives the idea of an unstoppable machine.
"Nightmare" is another song of excellent quality, with very incisive guitar riffs that lodge in the brain right from the start, almost like a bullet, a successful episode, little to add. It follows "Legacy Of Brutality", pure frontal assault that leaves no respite, compact and powerful, the song unfolds without excessive articulations, proving very effective, also serving as a prelude to track 9, namely the cover of the legendary song "Dead Shall Rise" taken precisely from the legendary "World Downfall." The result is excellent, devastating, absolutely worthy of the original, equipped with a contemporary sound that further highlights the power of this furious song.
Here’s the last actual song of the album, the beautiful "Victim Of Greed", characterized by an excellent instrumental work, Pintado always very precise and Sandoval's drumming. "Ghost Train" is an outro of little relevance, with the sole function of slightly calming the waters after the tsunami created by the close-knit quartet.

Regarding the production, it must be said that the work carried out by Juan “Punchy” Gonzalez is really good, the sounds are very powerful and all instruments are properly highlighted, one absolutely cannot complain, indeed, it is mandatory to enjoy the album at an appropriate volume, if you lock yourself in your room, from outside it will seem like there is a real war going on.

The performances of every single group member are on excellent levels, Rezhawk is little-known as a singer but throughout the album he delivers a top-notch, highly convincing performance, with a powerful and wrathful growl. Even the other new entry, namely bassist Tony Norman, does an excellent job, always precise and powerful.

What to say about the historical members, Pete Sandoval is known to be a great drummer and indeed, even in this album he performs his task excellently, with powerful, precise and compact drumming, well inspired.
A different discourse for the late Jesse Pintado, always the same great performance, as he had accustomed us to in the great Napalm Death, earning the deserved milestone of a legend of extreme metal, unfortunately, however, he will no longer be able to give us great moments with his characteristic and devastating riffing. A great loss.

In conclusion, the new Terrorizer album does not disappoint, on the contrary, the level is very good, not a filler song, all pieces of excellent craftsmanship produced by great musicians. And the comparison with "World Downfall"? Sincerely, in my opinion, the comparison with the legendary 1988 album is only relatively feasible, especially because the Grind component is decidedly less marked in our latest effort.
I recommend all extreme metal enthusiasts to purchase "Darker Days Ahead," an excellent return for the legendary Terrorizer, also to remember Jesse Pintado, who is no longer with us.