Taking Back Sunday, Hot Rod Circuit, and Coheed & Cambria: Three names that could stand alone and stand strong under any sort of scrutiny or criticism. When Fred Mascherino and Andy Jackson first announced Terrible Things, then known as Initials, expectations were high. Expectations were made even higher when Josh Eppard was announced as the band’s drummer. Terrible Things’s debut, self-titled, album has perhaps the best elements of each of the members’ previous works, but expands and branches out in ways they were never able to before.

After a short but sweet intro, “Revolution”, a born-to-be single, jumps right in your face with aggressive, cutting guitar parts and hard-hitting drums that don’t miss a beat as Fred declares “This is not a revolution” and Andy shouts “Until we say it is,” which should give high hopes to anybody hoping for duel vocals on the album. Though the record isn’t littered with tradeoffs like in the days of Lazarra and Mascherino, the vocals on Terrible Things are more than sound and daring enough to beckon for more listens.

Terrible Things is a concept album about arson in Fred’s hometown of Westchester, PA, and it’s easy to pick up on as Fred chillingly sings “I bet you could see our town from space that night” in “Up At Night”.  The track transitions into “Lullaby”, which along with “Been Here Before,” is one of the most mellow songs on the album and show off the versatility the band has to offer.

The best one-two punches on the record are certainly “Terrible Things” and “Conspiracy”. Both extremely different, with “Terrible Things” probably being the most catchy song on the album as Fred repeats “We’re doing terrible things // Just doing terrible things” in a much better way than he did on The Color Fred’s EP rendition of the song. “Conspiracy” is the most daring song on the album as the band gets out of their comfort zone and dives into a fake reality of a paranoid man who thinks his life is made up of conspiracies.

“Wrap Me Up” and “Not Alone” feature Andy Jackson on lead vocals, and both tracks do not disappoint, as it gives the album a different feel toward its end. Hopefully Andy will be featured more on lead vocals as the band paves out its future. “Not Alone” is followed by “The Hills Of Birmingham”, which is the final version of the first demo that Terrible Things ever posted.  It is perhaps for the “perfect” track on the album as a resonating guitar part leads into a driving bass that matches a quiet but notable drum while Fred sings “All the roads // They lead me back to you”.

Terrible Things’s debut closes with the record’s two final tracks. “The Arsonist’s Wife” is certainly the band’s “most Coheed” moment as Josh’s roaring drums pound in an angry riff and a matching second guitar part by Fred and Andy. Tracking in at over five minutes, the song is the album’s longest and most thought out mixing mellow and loud instruments with quiet and throaty vocals. After a two-minute silence “The Arsonist’s Wife” leads into a hidden acoustic track that features an acoustic guitar, a violin, and Fred’s vocals as he sings “What do I do if you don’t come back tomorrow // I know you never will”.

****/*****