Terrorizer (magazine)

Terrorizer

Editor	Jonathan Selzer
Categories	Music
Frequency	Every four weeks
First issue	1993
Company	Dark Arts Ltd.
Country	United Kingdom
Website	terrorizer.com

Terrorizer is an extreme music magazine published by Dark Arts Ltd. in the United Kingdom. It is released every four weeks and features a 'Fear Candy' covermount CD as well as a double-sided poster.

History

1993

Terrorizer published its first issue in October 1993 with Sepultura on the cover and a price of £1.90. "Sure, the layout was a bit ropey, with several 'cut out'-style pictures in the live section and some horribly lo-fi video stills in the Pestilence feature, but what a line-up of bands! Sepultura, Morgoth, Entombed, Morbid Angel, At The Gates, Coroner, Dismember, Sinister, Death...it was a veritable smorgasbord of brutality."

File:Terrorizer 1!.jpg

Terrorizer #1

The magazine’s title derives from seminal grindcore band Terrorizer and as such the magazine was an early champion of the emerging death metal scene, a tradition that it carried on and expanded to include all sub-generes of heavy metal adopting the the slogan "extreme music - no boundaries" in 2003 with #108, also the first part of the 'Thrash Special'.

After a second issue with cover stars Carcass the then editor, Rob Clymo, took a risk by putting Metallica on the cover which although caused controversy with elitists although symbolised a move towards broader musical coverage. Despite this, Terrorizers pulse remained firmly on the extreme metal underground with Cradle Of Filth winning best demo and Fear Factory best newcomer in the 1993 Readers' Poll.

1994–1995

Issue 11 saw Terrorizer celebrate its first birthday, covering hardcore punk in force with features on Suicidal Tendancies, Madball, Chaos UK and Pro-Pain. "There was a sense that the team were finally properly honouring the magazine's original pledge to cover all forms of extreme music."

In 1994 death metal began to get wider acceptance in the mainstream metal press but black metal continued to be vilified and/or ridiculed, creating a gap that Terrorizer filled by giving pages to bands like Enslaved, Emperor and Dissection, whilst the demo reviews continued to beat the trend, getting first listens of Behemoth and Amon Amarth.

The first covermount CD, entitled 'Noize Pollution 3' (the first two having been casettes), appeared on issue 23 in 1995 and featured At The Gates, Six Feet Under, In Flames, Moonspell and Dissection. That year Terrorizer also launched two phone services, 'Deathline' and 'Metal Mates', that were swiftly discontinued. "The former was a number you could call to actually listen to the whole of the interviews you'd read snippets of in the magazine, and the latter where you could register your personal details with a metal matchmaking agency."

1996–1998

With issue 28 in 1996, Nick Terry replaced Rob Clymo as editor and the issue saw a Burzum artwork poster. With issue 29 the new editor overhauled and expanded the album reviews, live reviews and introduced a black metal news column. The next two years were dominated by black metal vs hardcore punk debates, as the two forces then dominant in extreme music came head-to-head in the magazine. Issue 33 also featured a demo review of Public Disturbance, a Cardiff-based hardcore band whose members would go on to form Lostprophets. In 1997 the first incarnation of the Terrorizer website was launched, Emperor, Deicide, Vader and the return of Mayhem made the covers, and hardcore continued to get heavy coverage with Integrity, Shelter, the reformed Agnostic Front and a UKHC scene report that introduced Knuckledust.

In 1998 coverage embraced both nu metal (albeit in a critical fashion), which the magazine tried to christen 'woolly hat' music, as well as more traditional fare, the former however saw them receive a great deal of criticism from the underground. Terrorizer also featured the last ever interview with Death frontman Chuck Schuldiner in issue 59. Although the next year saw the emergence of noisecore with Neurosis, Today Is The Day, The Dillinger Escape Plan and Swans, Slipknot, who would recieve a cover by issue 73, got their first interview. Joey Jordison later admitted to having read the magazine since its first issue.

1999– present

Terrorizer ended 1999 with a Christmas show that saw Arch Enemy and Morbid Angel support Cradle Of Filth at The Astoria in London. In late 2000 Jonathan Selzer replaced Nick Terry as editor and 2001 saw a doom metal revival with coverage of Cathedral and Spirit Caravan so intensive that British doom metallers Warning split up following an argument inspired by quotes in their Terrorizer interview that year. "Indeed just about the only occasion they'd ever reared their heads in the British music press."

Issue 91 saw cover placement for London-based Satanic metallers Akercocke and later coverage of emerging British black metallers Anaal Nathrakh which would culminate in the previously studio-only band headlining Terrorizer's 2005 Christmas event, 'A Cold Night In Hell', as their first ever live appearence. With news of Chuck Schuldiner's death, issue 97 saw him appear on the cover in tribute along with six pages inside.

For issue 116, the covermount CD changed its name from 'Terrorized' (then on its 26th volume) to 'Fear Candy' and is currently on its 33rd volume, with some volumes given over to the yearly 'Fear Candy Unsigned' (previously called 'The Abominable Showcase') CD in which unsigned bands compete for an interview in the magazine. For 2006, the 'Fear Candy Unsigned' was mounted on the CD along with a regular 'Fear Candy'. Previous entrants for the 'Fear Candy Unsigned' who have since had a level of success include Season's End, a symphonic metal band now on 1 Records, zombie-themed thrash band Send More Paramedics on In At The Deep End Records, post-hardcore band Million Dead (now split-up) and avant-garde grindcore band Tangaroa on Anticulture Records.

Genre Specials

To date Terrorizer has produced eight genre specials, part one of the black metal special being the magazine's best selling single issue on the UK newstands.

Punk Special (#96, 2002)

Initiated to celebrate the 25th anniversary of punk hitting the mainstream with the Sex Pistols' appearance on 'Today' with Bill Grundy, the cover featured a striking image of a spikey haired female punk and led with a feature on Alan Parker's newly released punk history, 'England's Dreaming', all the punk retrospectives across CD, DVD and book were compiled into one reviews spread, appropriately followed by a feature on punk reissues, a feature on Anarcho-punk, the UK's DIY punk underground, the validity of US claims to 'inventing' punk versus UK claims, Oi, hardcore punk, the punk/metal crossover, and the legacy of punk in post-punk, industrial and goth, interviews with Deadline, Sick On The Bus, Bad Religion, Alec Empire and author Stewart Home. The special ended on a list of the top 50 punk albums, which was topped by Discharge's 'Hear Nothing See Nothing Say Nothing'.

Gore Special (#98, 2002)

File:Goreterr.jpg

Terrorizer #98 - Gore Special

With a Necrophagia cover designed to mimic the EC Comics horror titles of the 1950s, the Gore Special opened with a four page Necrophagia interview, a Desecration interview, a goregrind Round-Up that included Autopsy and Visceral Bleeding, a feature on cover art, censorship, horror movies and Gorerotted's own top ten.

Prog Special (#101, 2002)

Cover stars Arcturus and Opeth were photoshopped to hold the glowing covermount CD, a design that failed with the last minute change from a clear CD sleeve to a card one. The special opened with 'A Brief History Of Prog', an interview with Arcturus, Opeth, Ihsahn, Rush, Dream Theater and Cave In. A feature on the prog/metal crossover and a top ten.

Thrash Special (#108 & #109, 2003)

The first special to be done in multiple parts, issue 108 feature Anthrax's Scott Ian on the cover and 109 featured Nuclear Assault. The Terrorizer logo was coloured to resemble a classic thrash metal logo and the Thrash Special logo done as a patch on a denim background.

Part one started with a history of thrash, an interview with Anthrax, Overkill, Warhammer and Voivod, an overview of the global thrash metal scene, personal recollections from members of Testament, Kreator and Destruction as well as former Metal Forces editor Bernard Doe and producer Andy Sneap. Reviews of classic gigs and and overview of the main labels involved.

Part two opened with cover-stars Nuclear Assault, the second part of the global thrash report, classic gigs and the personal recollections, an overview of forgotten bands, politics, thrash fashion, crossover thrash, the legacy of thrash, the art of Ed Repka and a top twenty trumped by Slayer's 'Reign in Blood'.

Black Metal Special (#128, #129 & #130, 2005)

Opening with a striking Pete Beste image of Satyricon/1349's Frost breathing fire, the first part of the black metal special opened with a brief history of black metal entitled 'The Boys From The Black Stuff', a look at the black metal scene in Europe, the philosphy of black metal, the top twenty of the first wave and a look at the black metal underground.

Part two of the black metal special began with a look at Supernatural Records, black metal labels, the scene in South America, the top twenty of the second wave, the black metal mainstream and the scene in North America. The third part contained a look at the scene in the UK and Ireland, Scandinavia, Australasia and a look at post-black metal.

Power Metal Special (#135, #136 & #137, 2005)

Part one of the power metal special featured a DragonForce cover, a brief history of the genre, a look at the scene in Germany and in the UK as well as interviews with DragonForce and Dream Theater. The poster had Manowar on one side and the fantasy art of Paul Raymond Gregory on the other. Another fantasy artist, Chris Achillëos, gave a harsh blow-by-blow critique of power metal album covers.

The second part contained an interview with Stratovarius, a scene report from the USA, a look at power metal labels and selection of prominant power metal artists. The issue also contained a Judas Priest poster. Part three contained an interview with Gamma Ray and Helloween, a scene report for Europe, a top twenty and an A-to-Z of power metal themes.

Doom Special (#142, #143 & #144, 2006)

Although only the first part dominated the cover, a Black Sabbath-era image of Ozzy Osbourne, the Doom Special featured a specially compiled 'Bleak And Deestroy' compilation CD that included classic tracks by The Obsessed, Pentagram, Candlemass, My Dying Bride, Reverend Bizarre, Witchcraft and more. Part one begun with a look at Black Sabbath, a review of the entire Black Sabbath discography, a double-sided Cathedral and Wino poster, a look at 'true doom', death/doom and oral histories from Scott 'Wino' Weinrich and Sunn O)))'s Greg Anderson.

The second part featured a look at the 'true doom' community, doom labels, funeral doom/drone, oral histories from Candlemass's Leif Edling, Trouble's Eric Wagner, Saint Vitus' Dave Chandler and Cathedral's Lee Dorian. The issue also looked at stoner/sludge, doom artwork, the impact that doom had on the music world at large and posters of Electric Wizard and My Dying Bride.

Part three opened with a look at the doom scene in Maryland, Virginia and DC, themes in doom, concepts of sin and suffering in doom, forgotten doom, oral histories from Solitude's John Perez, Pentagram's Victor Griffin, My Dying Bride's Aaron Stainthorpe, and Sunn 0)))/Khanate's Stephen O'Malley. Ending with a doom metal top ten for each of the main subgenres.

Death Metal Special (#148, #149, #150 & #151, 2006)

The largest special to date, the death metal special is still ongoing with only the first two parts published. The first, with a Deicide cover (although unlike the power metal special, the Deicide feature was not positioned 'within' the special but inside the larger magazine as befitting their status in extreme metal), contains a extensive history of the genre, a look at the scene in Florida and Stockholm, a doublesided Morbid Angel and Deicide poster, a look at progressive death metal and oral histories from Cannibal Corpse's Alex Webster and The Haunted/At The Gates' Anders Björler.

The second part opened with an interview with Albert Mudrian, author of 'Choosing Death: The Improbable History Of Death Metal And Grindcore', a Gothenburg scene report, an article on death metal artwork and the over-the-top sounds of Anal Cunt and Lawnmower Deth. Also included were oral histories from Immolation's Ross Dolan and Nile's Karl Sanders.

Parts three and four are expected October 12 and November 9 respectively.

Trivia

British radio DJ John Peel, famously a champion of death metal and grindcore, revealed himself to be a fan of the magazine in an episode of 'Home Truths' on BBC Radio 4. "...I took several copies of a music magazine called 'Terrorizer' out of my luggage before leaving for New Zealand via Los Angeles in 2002 and given the hostility of the officials we encountered in California I'd say we did the right thing..."

Damien Gregori, a former member of Cradle Of Filth, is a long-serving member of the editorial team. Other bands whose members have contributed to Terrorizer, past and present, include Dam, Hiding With Girls, District, Moss, Leechwoman, Hexen, Demented Souls, Beyond Dawn, Mistress, Deathwatch and Stampin' Ground.

External links

• Terrorizer website
• The official Terrorizer profile on MySpace
• Terrorizer forum