Live By the Code is the newest addition to Terror’s boastful discography. Eleven songs of – yeah, you guessed it: that fast, hard-hitting hardcore that many of us love. The album opens up with “The Most High,” which I believe is an excellent start to the album. With a first listen, one can easily tell that this is surely a hardcore anthem, and maybe even the hardcore anthem of 2013. This track is one of the strongest, and Terror made the right choice starting the album off with this track. Continuing on, “Not Impressed” is a decent track that’s fast and short. What really gets me going is the next track, “Cold Truth.” This song was made for those who love to pit, and trust me, when you hear this song, you will pit. In this album you’ll find a few filler/average tracks, “I’m Only Stronger” being one of them. Nevertheless, I believe Terror albums are made to be listened to front to back, and appreciated as a whole. The title track, “Live By the Code,” plays next. One could argue that this is a hardcore anthem as well. Terror has made a name for themselves about staying true and pure in the hardcore scene; simply put, live by the code. This song is definitely one of the best on the record. Take a listen and you’ll understand why. Many of Terror’s songs focus on remaining strong and striving through life and its hardships. However, “The Good Die Young” is a song with an intense message. I’m sure we’ve all (or we will) struggle through hardships of losing someone important to us. It’s almost unbearable at times. This song is a tribute to all of our fallen heroes, friends, and anyone else that had an impact on our lives. As Terror puts it, the ones we’ve lost are “still alive in all of us,” and Scott Vogel also says, “In the blink of an eye, I lost you.” This line stresses the importance that a life can be lost with the blink of an eye. I commend Terror for writing this song. The rest of the album follows through strong, but I believe the best tracks are on the first half. “Shot of Reality” is a decent song, and following is “Hard Lessons” proclaiming your go-to hardcore ideology that life will have its difficulties. Life’s going to throw you hard lessons, but it makes you who you are. “Invasion” is a decent track, but I enjoy the message of “Nothing In Your Head.” As you can tell, Terror is very straight-forward with their song meanings. This song has a crucial message about people who simply have nothing in their head. Vogel urges people to “light the fuse,” use your head, and live your life. “One Blood” is the final track on the album, and although decent, I think a stronger one could have been used; such as “Live By the Code.”
Simply put, this is a Terror album. They’re not trying to do something new, and they’re sticking to their formula that they’ve been using since 2002. I’m happy they took around three years for another album because popping out album after album tends to lead to diminishing quality. The guitars on this record sound strong as hell, the drums are satisfactory, and Scott Vogel is still giving it his all after all these years. This is a solid album, and if you enjoy Terror, chances are you’ll at least give this album a few good listens. There are several filler tricks, but it’s not the worst thing that could happen. Overall, Live By the Code is a very solid Terror album. So next time they come to your area – stage dive, hit the pit, and sing along to these quality new songs.
Links: Facebook
