Terror are famed for being one of the most intense live acts in modern music and fresh from the release of latest album Live By The Code, Martin Stewart (guitar) spoke to Ghost Cult about the impact he feels it’s had on the current hardcore scene, the musical inspiration behind it and his own personal beliefs on nihilism.
Your last three albums have all received critical acclaim, did you feel under pressure entering the studio to create a fourth?
No pressure that I can remember. Thinking back on the process of creating and recording this record, it was all very smooth and natural. We all have a great time in the studio and we are always really excited about playing new material, so that overshadows any possible stress. We’re not the types to stress about stuff like that. I guess it can be pretty challenging to do something exciting time and time again without becoming stagnant. When you truly love the type of music that you’re creating and have so many constant sources of inspiration it helps out a lot. We visit many different countries, play with many different bands, experience so many different scenes around the world, listen to many different types of music; all these things are endless sources of inspiration.
Was ‘Live by the Code’ inspired by your time spent in the hardcore subcultures?
That is 100% correct. It’s so much more than just the music. It’s a way that we collectively feel about a life that we’ve chosen to live for many years now. It’s something that we’ve dedicated a large portion of our lives to. We tried to document those feelings as accurately as possible and I think we did a pretty good job.
Were there any particular incidents that influenced the album?
For some of the songs, yes, and for some of them, no; there are definitely certain people / bands that directly influenced some of the songs lyrically – some in a positive way, some in a negative way. ‘The Good Die Young’ which is a song that I contributed to lyrically was inspired by close friends of mine that death stole from me at too young of an age. It’s a very sad topic but it’s like therapy to be able to create a song in their honor. RIP to my brothers Berto, Che and the rest.
There’s a feeling of nihilism in Terror lyrics, how do you balance this with the more uplifting idea of the community and music as a way of life?
I think nihilism would be taking it a little too far. There’s definitely some negativity, but it’s from love that this negativity is born. When you care about something or someone and you see wrongs being committed towards whatever it is that you have this love for, you can’t help but feel anger. What better way to therapeutically release that anger than write music about it and flip it into a positive thing? Create a song that other people can relate to, read the lyrics, scream those lyrics along with you at a show and feel that relief of emotional release.
What touring plans does Terror have?
We’re out on the road now with Hatebreed in the US and we’ll also be playing a show in Costa Rica, as well as a tour with Lamb of God in the US. The summer will see us in Europe / UK for festivals and another big summer tour across the states with Every Time I Die. The rest of the year will be busy for us and into the next year.
Last year you celebrated ten years as a band; did you ever think you’d reach this point? Was it strange looking back over the ‘Bridge Nine’ years for the ‘No Regrets, No Shame’ release?
Not strange at all. When you have no expectations and just go with the flow it all just kinda works out and makes sense. We just do whatever it is we want to do and love and appreciate every second of it.
You’ve always maintained a classic hardcore sound but are there any modern bands or movements that you’ve found yourselves taking influence from?
I personally listen to a lot of metal. I find inspiration in the small pockets of the metal community that are still so DIY driven. Bands whose main concern will never be sounding the best or selling the most records. Their main concern is their message they want to convey and they’ll do whatever it takes to get that music out; pressing their vinyl, dubbing their own tapes, hand drawing their own artwork. It’s a beautiful thing.
What are your opinions on hardcore at the moment?
I love hardcore at all moments. There’s a multitude of great bands around the world that care about this movement and try hard to maintain it. Curse all those posers out there that leech off of this. They won’t last long because they won’t put in the work necessary to survive when they hype dies.
Matthew Tilt