Coming from Portugal, TERROR EMPIRE released their first album: Face the Terror. Formed in 2009, they qualify their music as a furious and calculated brand of thrash metal. And it definitely is. Insane drum beats, edgy guitars and furious breakdowns, that’s what they’re all about. A mix of traditional thrash and modern metal, this band has an unexplainable groove and peculiar time signatures but still manages to keep that oldschool thrash feeling in their own way. And after all that, still manage to be delightfully heavy. As if big four meets Lamb of God meets technical metal. Powerful melodic solos and true heavy breakdowns is what caught my ear, as well as a feeling of rage in frontman Ricardo Martins’ screams. I find the band’s concept original and smart, as the name Terror Empire somehow denounces the terror dogma of paranoia and security over individual rights. A bit like Ministry and their anti-Bush lyrics.

     All 6 songs on this album have a thing of their own. Whether it’s the catchy lyrics of Dirty Bomb, the guitar solo in The Brave or the drums in the intro of Last Fire, there’s always something about each song that makes it different from the others. Something I believe to be very important, especially on a first release. I give them a 9/10, as I got tired of some of the tracks very quickly, but Terror Empire is still one hell of a band in my opinion.

Rating 9/10

You can listen, buy or download for free the record Face the Terror right here: http://www.terrorempire.net/

And give them a visit on Facebook as well: http://www.facebook.com/terrorempire