Tommy and the Terrors

Tommy and the Terrors remember what punk rock is. They remember a time when the lyrics to punk records weren’t all centered around bleeding hearts and dying dreams, when the music was volatile, raucous, and not embraced by the mainstream. And even now, that’s just what they’re sticking to. The TKO-released album Unleash the Fury does just that, and for 15 tracks, the spirit and passion is undeniable.

Everything that you could ask for in a good punk rock record is here. Most notably, this is intense. For all twenty-six minutes, the band plays as loudly and as fast as they know how, and they keep it from being at all sloppy. The riffs are simplistic, the progressions just as much so, but they approach it all with a ferocity that few in the scene today can match. Everything is full throttle, every minute of every single song. The vocalist has an extremely quick and effective shouted delivery, sporadically really letting go for what sounds like a warrior's battle cry. That’s what sets the basis for everything, the vicious vocal style, but the singer can’t do things all himself.

Luckily, the band behind him is just as full of energy as he is, and on every track, they show it.

There’s no going through the motions, not even a hint at a slowdown, it’s straight ahead full power all the time. “I’m Coming Home” opens with a quick but impressive burst of guitar work until launching directly into the spirited, anthemic verses, which are only the set up for the perfect sing-along chorus of “Oh baby I’m coming home." Tough and gritty as these tracks are, you can’t help but be caught off guard by how truly rousing and infectious these songs are. While essentially rudimentary, they really bring a lot of different elements that should have no problems keeping you coming back for listen after listen. The buzzsaw guitars and pounding drums sound fresh and as aggressive at the end of the album as the beginning, and you really just can’t keep this band down.

Fifteen songs full of vigor and punk rock fury. Don’t pass this one up.