Tommy and the Terrors – Unleash The Fury / 2005 TKO / 15 Tracks / http://www.tommyandtheterrors.com / http://www.tkorecords.com / Reviewed 23 December 2005

An all-together brand of singing ties together the breakneck speed of Tommy and the Terrors even in the earliest section of “Unleash The Fury”. The head-first vocals are immediately recallable and the repetition enough to be able to sing through the chorus after the first listen or two. Everything is essentially radio-friendly but not devoid of the punk soul; this truly is one of a rare breed. At a few minutes under a half-hour, chances are that this disc will get quite a few repeats during a party or a similar setting.

Produced by Matt Kelly (Dropkick Murphies), this moves even beyond the trail blazed by DKM in pushing forth a brand of punk that taps equally the fury of the past with the professionality of the present. At times sounding like Tim from Rise Against, Tommy and the Terrors throw together enough of these tracks to inflame the hearts of all listening and bring them into a vicious circle pit. Imagine a more mature (and less stupid) sounding Rancid, or a revamped L.E.S. Stitches and one will have a general idea of what Tommy and the Terrors sound like. Each of the tracks on “Unleash the Fury” is quick enough that there is virtually no chance that listeners will get bored; the differentiation made between the tracks is enough to really imbue the disc with a high amount of playability.

“Here We Go” is perhaps the most catchy out of all of the tracks on “Unleash The Fury”; the title phrase is repeated with an insistence that it will take all listeners have, even alone, to not shout out the chorus. Soon after, there is another path taken by Tommy and the Terrors in their “All Together”. At a few seconds over a minute, the band kicks it up another notch to come up with a track that drills itself into listeners head in the shortest period possible. “I, Barcode” is another immediate hit, while the slightly slower tempo of “Get Away” is pushed forward towards greatness by the chorus. Tommy and the Terrors are the most genuine and impressive streetpunk type of act of 2005; they really came out of left field with this release and by the time it finishes, one wonders why they were not noticed much earlier. Memorable and fun, “Unleash the Fury” is an album that should become as vital as anything Patriot or the Ducky Boys cut.

Top Tracks: Worms, Here We Go

Rating: 7.7/10

[JMcQ]