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Oscar Garcia, Jesse Pintado (R.I.P.), David Vincent, and Pete Sandoval are Terrorizer, a legendary band, if there ever was one in the Grindcore saga, the masters of the D.O.C Death Metal factory; not the inventors of the all-grinding genre, an honor said to belong to Napalm Death, not the longest-lasting, nor the shrewdest, but undoubtedly the most heroic.
"World Downfall" was released in 1989 when the band no longer existed: Pintado joined Napalm Death and Pete Sandoval went on to Morbid Angel together with David Vincent. Over the years, this has been the group's only full-length album, until recently when they released, a good seventeen years later, the follow-up "Darker Days Ahead" (without Garcia and Vincent), which was overshadowed by the passing of guitarist Jesse Pintado, following issues with alcoholism. In "World Downfall" we find sixteen tracks of overwhelming Grindcore and Death Metal, sometimes disjointed, sometimes diluted, in thirty-six minutes of massacre devoid of guitar solos, with various fascinating solutions; it spans from ultra-fast drums to steel-string bass, from a guitar noisy like a boiler to Oscar Garcia's wrathful, pained, inquisitive voice declaiming texts infused with alienation, the end of the world, greedy multinationals, atomic wars, cruelty mixed in the petroleum green cover that cloaks the collage of Islamic guerrillas, nuclear power plants, and buried children: a bitter flavor similar to the covers of "Scum" and "From Enslavement To Obliteration" by Morte Al Napalm.
Grindcore is the sonic stampede, a base of tension and release between Thrash rhythms and blast beat drumming spiced by the adamantine yet raw Death Metal production of Scott Burns and David Vincent. Everything seems perfect from the opener "After World Obliteration", the harbor where it departs, growing from the twilight zone, reminiscent of dylandog, the Death Metal wall played with vigor by Pintado, hounded by Sandoval dispensing slayerian speed mixed with hardcore grind-all discussions and stellar double bass; the bass tsunami of Vincent cements it all while Pintado's whirlwind roars, with the faint meow of the six-string amidst the storm, before diving into the feral, surgical blast magma, celebrated by cymbals sounding like a violent bowling pin strike. Immense Garcia with his powerful, guttural, beastly growl, like an enraged puma against honest society, against the profit of multinationals ("Multinational Corporations, genocide of the starving nations" Napalm Death also sang). Restart with "Storm Of Stress" opened by the thundering and satanic bass projecting us onto nerve-wracking streets, or into witches' Sabbath or a pitch-black voodoo ritual cave, all sublimated by a whirring sewing-machine-like drum.
"Fear Of Napalm" starts peacefully but then takes off like a jet, intoxicating with enthralling time changes up to the brink of "Human Prey", with the album's fiercest and longest "barrage beat", seamlessly merging into the shout of "Diee, diee, diee" in "Corporation Pull-In" where "The rich get rich the poor stay poor and discomfort tears through flesh. "Strategic Warheads" shakes us with a text of pained lips, with seemingly endless, unbelievably creative rolls, increasingly repeated on "Condemned System" enhanced by Oscar bursting out an easy but striking refrain, whereas "Resurrection" is orthodox, coarse-grained Death Metal: a slight songwriting drop. "Enslaved by Propaganda" is excellently sung, with roars rising and falling, highlighting expressed concepts, while the drum kit appears to incessantly explode, varying the beat and offbeat frequently; there’s no breathing time as "Need To Live" arrives, marked by Oscar's good intro, his voice more muffled than usual; not so with "Ripped To Shreds": a shabby shower of speed, with other mini guitar howls closing as they seep through the metallic wall to sob.
"Injustice" opens with an unusual swirling riff, with following blast beats, tempo changes, and reunion with the initial theme: a delight; there are also two lackluster tracks "Whirlwind Struggle" with dense double bass underpinning, and "Infestation", definitely a filler. Behold the album’s anthem song, included in the "Grindcrushers" compilation, the anthemic and aggressive "Dead Shall Rise" which perfectly synthesizes Grindcore's power and Death Metal's sound: furious drumming and epic, tight guitar sound, undoubtedly a soul mate of "Reek Of Putrefaction" by Carcass. The title track looms at the end, more composed and versatile in rhythm, askew in unfolding, fading slowly with Oscar lowering his voice singing and speaking, with the aftertaste of "World Downfall".
An evergreen album, a source of inspiration for '90s Grind/Death bands, played by musicians who were exploring near-virgin metal territories: "World Downfall"'s legacy resounds in "Altar Of Madness" by Morbid Angel and more sedately in "Harmony Corruption" by Napalm Death.
Legendary, unique, immeasurable Terrorizer, one of the bands I have loved immensely (and still adore) and that have been close to my heart with their music.
Tracklist Lyrics Samples and Videos
04 Human Prey (02:08)
See into the future
what will be
devastation, mutilation
of mankind
multi-million slaughter
killed in torture
by the final seize
of pure hatred
Live to die
In a world
Far beyond
Another time
A race is gone
with his words
to keep his faith
proud and strong
the pain we gave to millions
the only escape is to die
Last hope
Human prey
05 Corporation Pull-In (02:21)
Big money business
take what they can
always for a profit
never for the consumer
using all tricks
using to trap
taking all for money
for their personal gain
Corporation pull-in
Corporation pull-in
The rich get rich
the poor stay poor
working hard
all for nothing
life of dreams
shatter faith
down and grim
there's no answer
Corporation pull-in
Corporation pull-in
Always in it for the money
government bastards are to blame
no-one cares anymore
about society and economy
millions die
loss of values
corporation takes control
no way out of this misery
always backing big business shit!
The economy of this nation
is slowly drifting away
self-righteous bastards
never caring about society
Who - suffers - pays the price
People - prisoners - to the system
The wealth and greed
the power to gain
fucking over others
just to stay ahead
Can't they - see - they must help
Stop - the Pain - of mankind
Racial powerkeeeps minorities down
who died and made them god
If they want an apartheid state
then take your shit and fuck off
06 Strategic Warheads (01:38)
Nations falling, to defeat
burning ash, who's to blame
human suffer, left in torture
rise and fall, fear of war
Fear the future of mankind
nothing left but wasted years
Can't escape, world downfall
cut-throat system, spare no pain
life and death, meet together
why must one, lose like this
Fear the future of mankind
nothing left but wasted years
07 Condemned System (01:22)
Do you see the Pain
Do you see the Power
Do you see the Hate
Do you see the Shit
You say you're for the system
What harm can it really do
to back up some deceiver
the promises they made to you
09 Enslaved by Propaganda (02:14)
Entrapment
by society
corporation
propagandist
Money making
gain for power
gimmicks and lies
slaves to the system
Why?
Irresistible
Break down system
to the game
the economy suffers
Third world nations
suffer most
takes for granted
just for their dollars
akways helpless
being fucked over
other nations use them
as stepping stones
10 Need to Live (01:17)
Birth from wound
life begins
sin from start
hell of living
no-one cares
no-oine listens
to the cries
of lost defeat
(Need to Live)
Why must one
suffer through life
always take second
Price to pay
can't stand society
can't stand lies
Born to live
Then to die
(Need to Live)
11 Ripped to Shreds (02:52)
So damn tired of these lies
It looks so nice on the TV screen
animal slaughter killed for profit
one just buys and gives no thought
Big Bad Business killing millions
for their greed, love for money
always trying to make a buck
can't you see we want some truth
Ripped to shreds
nothing to gain but murder
bloody, animal slaughter
why can't understand life
12 Injustice (01:28)
Bullshit lies they make to us
take our money for their gain
never give a damn about this life
living in a world just to die
13 Whirlwind Struggle (02:16)
You know what makes us really sick
Are these fucking assholes in control
With their power, greed for money
they take it all from the poor
Whirlwind struggle for survival
Taking force on the innocent
take what rights, what little we have
thay say we're free as can be
but we're all slaves to the governments
Whirlwind struggle for survival
Understand there's too much pain
the suffering of man continues
will we ever learn from this
or will war be the final destiny
Whirlwind struggle for survival
14 Infestation (01:55)
So wrapped up in the system
Prisoner of the government
fall into a brainwashed state
you're just a number in their eyes
Selfrighteous Bastards live for greed
never caring about society
fear the future what it holds?
Guess who pays the final price
never run from the system,
face it strong, standing proud
never let them take control
uphold your words and don't back down
15 Dead Shall Rise (03:05)
(Only known lyrics)
The dead shall rise
From their grave
To destroy
All mankind
16 World Downfall (02:36)
You fall into their trap
They con you to believe
that they'll make everything better
they're running for the people
Can one trust these lying bastards
Squeezing every cent from you
Using one to gain more power
One must put a stop to this
World downfall
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Other reviews
By Taxirider
Soundtracked napalm smell, rock instrument-produced dynamite, grindcore lead, death metal bullets, war sirens in growl vocals, corpses from the fields of Vietnam and Afghanistan, and something apocalyptic.
Crushing blast-beats, killer riffs, wolfish growl vocals, absence of solos and technicalities, a hardcore approach, and an insane metallic inclination are the salient features of 'World Downfall.'
