Holy Terror - Terror and Submission
Combat
Thrash Metal
9 songs (42:24)
Release year: 1987
Reviewed by Thomas
Archive review

Sometimes, getting your ass kicked just isn't too bad at all. If there were to be a physical genre, including music that would be literally ass-thumping, face-stomping and in any way outright violent it has to be eighties thrash metal. Looking past the so-called, still over-hyped big four, there were heaps of bands, some of them reunited, some of them still broken up, that I keep getting back to when I want to get a proper beating. Heathen, Forbidden, Anacrusis to some extent, older Agent Steel and Sadus are among the bands I consider worthy of my precious time nowadays. However, the one band I keep getting back to when I want my overdose on thrash is Holy motherfucking Terror. Faster than Slayer, heavier than Exodus and more melodic than Megadeth, can you ask for more? The general opinion seems to be that Mind Wars is their best outing, something I respectfully disagree with, as I favor this, their debut, Terror and Submission. Of course, both albums packs a terrifying one-two punch that will blow you away like nothing ever has, I however find that this one has more to offer. Personal opinions aside though, Holy Terror will stun you with a combination of relentless, powerful riffs, huge melodies, and dazzling speed, slapping you senseless from start to finish.

In all honesty, Holy Terror relates more to the vicious, more evil side of early Germany thrash than anything else. Their style was dirty and aggressive, and sometimes even resembles a fusion of Possessed and Venom. Add the speed of Sodom, the filth of early Destruction and the melody of the American scene to that and that's Holy Terror in a nutshell. Except a number of Overkill's releases, this is pretty much the coolest, most deliberate guitar-driven thrash metal album there is. The sound is razor-sharp, the riffs are edgy and fast as flaming hell. Accompanied by face-shredding solos things are set for a tornado of an album, where every song stands out in it's own special way.

Terror and Submission starts off with Black Plague (if you have the Candlelight reissue that is) and with the aforementioned speed and Keith Deen's slightly raspy high-pitched wails you're trapped in the middle of a seemingly never-ending roller-coaster from hell. The production strikes me as next to perfect, with lots of meat and flesh on the bare foundation created by head-chopping instrumental handling. Evil's Rising follows up in a not so brutal manner, yet much deeper, a bit groovier but still crushing, before it picks up some speed and delivers some extremely sharp dual guitar solo's with chainsaw precision. In comparison Blood of the Saints starts of rather doomy, with distinctly dark riffs before throttling into familiar territory. The vocal melodies are fantastic, accompanied by huge riffs at thundering, deadly speed that leads into the much faster Mortal Fear that continues slashing in the same footsteps as its predecessing killers. Upcoming, mid-paced straight-out thrasher, Guardians of the Netherworld turns things down a notch, and builds towards the coming climax that is Distant Calling. Hailed as fan-favourite by many, including me, the Maiden-esque galloping axemanship, as well as nifty, beautifully forged melody lines, by both guitars and vocals, melts this down into the perfect example of how heavy metal-inspired thrash metal should sound like. The same pretty much goes for the insanely explosive title-track which also ends up amongst the many killing tracks here.

Finished off by the intense duo Tomorrow's End and the conclusive Alpha Omega – The Bringer of Balance, Terror and Submission comes off as an amazing piece of blending, melodic, dirty yet lovely thrash metal that will keep your neck sore for months to come. Get this fucker down from your shelf, put it in you spinner, and jump around like a maniac, air-guitaring, air-drumming, singing along, whatever, just get it. If you don't already know it, well, no wonder you're miserable. This is a must-have for fans of thrash metal, and even the haters can't write it off nor claiming it to rip their untouchable Slayer off. Oh and, according to most people, Mind Wars is supposed to be better. In other words, you don't know what you're missing with this, go get it.

Killing Songs :
This album slays from start to finish
Thomas quoted 96 / 100
Other albums by Holy Terror that we have reviewed:
Holy Terror - Mind Wars reviewed by Thomas and quoted CLASSIC
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