Ever since their inception in 2000, TERROR has consistently been an "it" band, but what type of "it" has been almost perennially up for debate. Sure, Scott Vogel and his revolving door crew of meathead tough guys are almost certain to eventually ascend to the right fist of HATEBREED. They have always had the speed and a sound to make them stand out. Lyrical content bordering on absurdly ridiculous. Well, that is and always has been available in spades. Vogelisms.com is just plain laughable at times. So why, then, has TERROR been perpetually one with the Hardcore underdogs? Because they like it there, dammit, and they suffered under the gun of a label full of bands that, quite plainly, mostly sound like second rate HATEBREED. With "The Damned, The Shamed", that problem at least has been fixed. There is no shame here.

Jumping ship from Trustkill (an ironic name given recent bad press) to Metal institution Century Media seems to have given new wings to TERROR. The band has injected melody, nuance, and gosh darned music into their melee of mosh calls and breakdowns. No, they are not necessarily the same thing. Beginning with a swift kick in the teeth, "The Damned, The Shamed" takes no prisoners and firmly cements that TERROR have arrived this time with all cylinders firing. And, they have also packed into their arsenal guitar leads and breakdowns that make sense and will get the head nodding. Check out "What I Despise" for a prime example of a true Hardcore band embracing the more Metal aspects of the genre. Come to think of it, it may be that previous heavy reliance on being anti-Metal could very well be what has held TERROR back from truly coming into their own. "Let Me Sink" sees the band entering into quasi ballad territory but instead of falling prey to the trend of clean vocals come chorus time, the listener is treated to Scott Vogel dryly barking out a plea to let him drown in his own sorrows. Such a move is really quite welcome within an aggressive music scene suffering from too many one trick ponies, and is a sly bit of nuance that will elevate "The Damned, The Shamed" to being one of the best Hardcore albums of the year.

With regard to the label switch, it seems that signing to Century Media really did make TERROR step up their game. Two step it up, even. They have been forced to produce the fusion of Hardcore and Metal that fans of each genre can get into and not feel like they are betraying their roots. And TERROR certainly don't betray their Hardcore roots once, at all, ever. There are still enough break downs to encourage the pit ninjas to lay waste to their assailants and even one complete throw away track in "Still Believe?" which, although catchy as all hell, possesses some of the weakest lyrics I have ever personally heard. Now, bad lyrics in tough guy Hardcore are nothing new, but "Still Believe?" really pushes that envelope. Aside from that small complaint, "The Damned, The Shamed" is worthy of several spins and is a prime example of a band living up to their potential and then surpassing it. Now, if only I could stop checking Vogelisms.com daily...