Holy Terror: "Total Terror" 5-CD Box Set Review

The late-‘80s saw a huge influx of thrash metal bands, many of whom disappeared after an average of two albums. Most of those bands that did not make it to the completion of a third album were short on originality, and consequently, couldn’t compete with thrash’s more established bands as the genre’s heyday was fading. Los Angeles quintet Holy Terror were one of the exceptions, with an original sound and talent to boot. A 5-CD box set entitled Total Terror was just issued at the end of October by Dissonance Productions with their complete works (re-released individually on vinyl), and I highly recommend making the purchase.

Terror and Submission (1987) - The cover art, depicting a nasty serpent with two arms on a crucifix making the shape of an “S”, seems to be implying that the cross represents terror and that the serpent symbolizes submission. You might have already observed that for yourselves, so let’s get to the music. The band is constantly going back and forth between catchy thrashing and chilling melodies throughout the album. “Blood of the Saints” and “Mortal Fear” are full of the former, while “Guardians of the Netherworld”, “Distant Calling”, and “Terror and Submission” are characterized more by the latter. “Tomorrow’s End” captures both traits brilliantly. The rhythm section stomps thunderously even through slower moments like the beginning of “Guardians”, and the drums shuffle wildly throughout the chorus of the title track. Frontman Keith Deen is all over the place with his voice in the same way that a great drummer makes full use of his kit. When your music possesses as much violent aggression as it does haunting melodies, doesn’t it make sense to have a vocalist who can scream well and sing well? Keith shines in both departments in his own way. This is one of the greatest metal albums of all-time, and amongst all the fantastic songs it features, the title cut is my favorite!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhb4My8L2FI

Mind Wars (1988) - With a serpent with two heads and seven arms destroying the cross this time, the artwork strikes me as a reflection of an internal battle between good and evil in one’s mind, and evil being victorious in this case. Even though it has a different sound than the debut, Mind Wars is an excellent follow-up that is still unmistakably Holy Terror. The melodies can get slightly punk-ish at times, as you’ll find in the memorable choruses of “Damned By Judges” and “No Resurrection”. Other times, it’s more Iron Maiden-style noodling on the higher strings, but you won’t find anything here that sounds as creepy or haunting as the songs on TAS. “Debt of Pain” is a sped-up re-working of Agent Steel’s “Back to Reign” with some length trimmed and different lyrics; similar to Megadeth’s “Mechanix” being the shorter, faster version of Metallica’s “The Four Horsemen” (Kurt Kilfelt played guitar in both Agent Steel and Holy Terror). My favorites on this one would have to be “The Immoral Wasteland” and “Christian Resistance” because they have killer hooks and they give you a great feel for Keith Deen’s range. Deen even has a few cookie monster moments on “No Resurrection”.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uk6IO6APTIE

El Revengo/Live Terror (2007) - The first disc is essentially re-mixes of various songs from the two full-lengths. It’s well worth hearing for a more audible bass. As a live band, Holy Terror has precise execution, and a particularly strong drum sound. I love listening to Joe Mitchell’s toms roll around throughout “Alpha Omega” and “Do Unto Others”. Deen’s vocals are every bit as unique as they are on the studio recordings, and even more unique at times. The bridge of the Florida recording of “Christian Resistance” has some great banshee screams that don’t even sound like anything he did on record. That particular song is played at a somewhat slower pace on here, but the drumming and guitar solos show improvement over the studio version. I also had a chuckle over a couple of screams he did during “Do Unto Others”. They often belch in between songs, and at one point, you can hear Keith Deen randomly yelling, “Let’s get on with it!!”

Live DVD (2007) - Originally included on El Revengo, this DVD contains bootleg footage of some live shows they did in Milwaukee, Chicago, and Anaheim in the late ‘80s. There is a lot of static noise, and you often can’t get a clear view of a band from seeing so many people in front of the camera (kind of like many of the photos I submit of my concert reviews), but just having a live DVD of the band is enough of a cause for excitement. The 15 or 20 minutes of Chicago footage have the poorest video quality of these three shows. Even with the flaws of bootleg material, you can easily notice that the band is playing the hell out of the show every time. Bassist Floyd Flanary plays harder than anybody without feeling the need to act goofy or run all over the stage, he develops his crazy stage presence by merely playing his instrument. There’s a reason why the camera is often focused on Flanary during so many of the guitar solos at the Anaheim show. There are also some good shots of Joe Mitchell playing ferociously on the kit, and you can catch Keith Deen kneeling down on one knee as he sings quite often. They also tend to play slightly faster live, particularly on “No Resurrection” and “Alpha Omega”.



Terror and Submission and Mind Wars have been re-issued together a few times in the past, and they are incomplete without each other. To separate these two gems is basically like ending a marriage or close friendship. Fortunately, the inclusion of the re-mixes and live footage in this box set make this the most complete re-release and the best way to bring Holy Terror into your collection. If only they had included Holy Terror’s 1986 demo on here as well… -Nick Statuto

Order your copy HERE!

Read More News

Tags:  Holy Terror, Total Terror, Terror and Submission, Mind Wars, El Revengo Live Terror

Nick Statuto    November 04, 2017