Another year of Toronto’s annual hardcore/punk extravaganza, Not Dead Yet, has come and gone. The event is a weekend where a series of shows are held around the city and, this year, the biggest show was arguably California hardcore band, Terror bringing to town their headlining tour alongside Harms Way, Backtrack, Year Of The Knife and Candy.
Each band brought their own energy throughout the evening: Candy made a fantastic first impression on the Canadian crowd through their punishing riffs, Year Of The Knife brought the brutal beatdown and the fans followed suite, Backtrack’s breed of New York hardcore set the crowd into a frenzy, and Harms Way’s incorporation of industrial sounds with straight up metal/hardcore riffs carried the hype along.
Check out Matthew Burditt’s mini gallery of sick live shots from the recent Toronto show.
Then, Terror hit the stage and all hell broke loose! Stage dives, fans invading the stage, and a cameo from Ben Cook of Toronto hardcore band, No Warning (who might I add wins best dressed of NDY, rocking a nice, long trench coat on stage). Following the release of their critically acclaimed seventh studio album, Total Retaliation, the group proved they still have a whole lot left in their tank and remain heavyweights of the hardcore world. Here are some key reasons that may be:
01. Longevity
– As mentioned earlier, the California group is on their seventh album, a feat not many bands have obtained. On top of continuously touring heavily, they have kept themselves accessible for fans without taking an extensive break from the lifestyle.
02. Constant Touring
– Fans have had no shortage of the five-piece in their lives. Similar to my first experience seeing them, I wanted to be right back in the second they hit the last note. This seems to always be the case for fans of the band as the demographic in the crowd ranged from high school students to parents enjoying a Friday night out.
Stream this song and get ready for some massive “Mental Demolition”.
03. Hardcore’s Prominence in the 2010’s
– It’s hard to deny that the hardcore scene and ideals have become a lot more prevalent in recent years. With that comes kids doing their research in the genre coming across bands that have been doing it for a long time. Acts like Terror. On top of touring with younger groups in hardcore and outside the genre, like Knocked Loose and The Story So Far, they’ve become a staple for all fans alike.
04. Dedicated Fanbase
– Going back to talking about their fans, the hardcore community is one that doesn’t step away from trends. Once a band is there, they’re always a part of you. As stated in a previous trait, fans at a Terror show can range from high school kids just finding out about hardcore to people in their mid-‘30s who were there for Scott Vogel in the Buried Alive days.
05. Continuously Putting out Banging Tunes
– This is their seventh album. With most bands, some albums will be met with criticism and are bound to be forgotten by both fan and band. But in this case, there are no complaints about a thing. This group have been and will likely continue to keep putting out solid material for as long as they are a band. Whether you like it or not, Terror will always be a glorified name in hardcore and they have put in the work to justify their place in the scene.
The Total Retaliation album dropped September 28, 2018, via Pure Noise Records an Nuclear Blast.
