Negro Terror - The Bootleg
Meet Negro Terror, a punk band from Memphis, Tennessee, who dropped their debut EP, The Bootleg, in April 2017.
Negro Terror
According to the band, “Negro Terror, the brainchild of bassist and reggae front man Omar Higgins, is an all American, all hardcore punk group that just happens to be all black. But the music that's played has no color, just the crimson red of pure aggression.”
They’re all that a whole lot more. These guys rip it up with the force of a nuclear hurricane. Their sound is raw, hard-hitting, and uncompromising.
The band comprises Omar Higgins (bass), Ricardo Fields (guitar), and Ra’id (drums). Since The Bootleg was released, the band added David (guitar), and is preparing to drop a new album, Paranoia, in May, via Imperial Dynasty Productions.
The first track is “Invasion,” which opens on raging guitar riffs and crunching drums. The groove punches straight ahead like a runaway train. Higgins’ vocals snarl with wicked energy, infusing the tune with beau coup bad boy attitude.
If Jack White was a punk rocker, he would sound like this.
“Limb From Limb” rides belligerent guitars and opaque hues of sizzling dynamics. The guitars growl and grind relentlessly until the feedback-filled end. “Rapist” features hammering drums pushing the reverb-heavy guitars to extravagant levels of sonic mass. Sneering, scowling vocals imbue the lyrics with ferocious bite and vicious intensity.
“We Need Support” slows things down a bit, initially, opening on grimacing guitar riffs and a throbbing bass line, and then segues into hardcore thrash punk momentum that approaches supersonic speeds. The stellar drumming on this track is reminiscent of Mitch Mitchell, who played with Jimi Hendrix. It’s hecka buff and full of tight, blazing fills.
“Voice Of Memphis” rides a stripped down feel composed of fuzzed-out guitars, slamming percussion, and roaring vocals. If Jack White was a punk rocker, he would sound like this.
The Bootleg is pummeling hardcore punk, played by no-nonsense musicians with deft technique and singular purpose. Negro Terror lays it down!
