Band:	Terrorizer
Album:	World Downfall
Style:	Grindcore
Release date:	1989
Guest review by:	qlacs

01. After World Obliteration
02. Storm Of Stress
03. Fear Of Napalm
04. Human Prey
05. Corporation Pull-In
06. Strategic Warheads
07. Condemned System
08. Resurrection
09. Enslaved By Propaganda
10. Need To Live
11. Ripped To Shreds
12. Injustice
13. Whirlwind Struggle
14. Infestation
15. Dead Shall Rise
16. World Downfall

How to lay down a genre classic: have a friend who is already influential in that genre you play; have him convince one of the biggest record label's owners that you play the best shit ever; break up after a few demos, then agree to record an album; have your bass player end up in jail; have the guitarist forget half the songs; then go to a studio where your mates are playing and put everything together from start to finish in 8 hours. This is how Terrorizer did it, according to the legend...

Reading the history about how these guys made two landmark albums in two different (but not too distinct) styles of music is pretty fun. I mean, finding out that at the age of 26 you can still be a crazy ass person like most people are at 16 is one thing. Playing double drums with one pedal and still sounding cool is another. Having one of your best friend's play the bass on two albums together with you is also a fancy thing. But turning out be damn awesome after all of this still wins. World Downfall exploded in '89 and was a big thing out of nowhere, paving the way for great things to come. It's considered a fundamental (or let's just say recommended) grindcore album, alongside Repulsion's Horrified, early Carcass, any Nasum's work, or the newer Insect Warfare's World Extermination.

These songs have some complex structures (relative to other grind bands) with somewhat of a crossover style (implementing both thrash and death metal) that basically screws your brain for good. The vocals are kind of the same throughout the album, but you know it's grindcore so it is not a big issue. The crunchy guitar tone that's featured fits well for all themes, and the drumming is pretty over-the-top with lots of breaks and changes.

It is stated that some of the songs were actually written by their twin band, Nausea. After a couple of spins you can start to tell which songs they are - not that they are bad, but they are more on the aggressive side. This makes for a good contrast overall.

The sound that was created here became elementary for many bands that followed. This dim and corroded sound was embraced by Scott Burns, who as you may know became a well-known record producer. It is said this was one of the stepping stones in his career.

I can't see the point in picking songs from the album as prime examples, since you can't go wrong with any of them; however, you might want to take a look how many bands were influenced by this single album and made covers of these songs...

There is part of the legend that say we can thank to Shane Embury of Napalm Death fame that World Downfall exists, he pushed through this thing so the guys could get their stuff released widely. I'm so glad it turned out to be like this.