Terror Universal’s Plague On “Make Them Bleed” & Being A Supergroup

An American horror metal band consisting of current and former members of Machine Head, Soulfly, Upon A Burning Body and Ill Nino, Terror Universal came out of the gate with a lot of buzz. Since forming in 2014, touring has already been done alongside Korn, Asking Alexandria, HELLYEAH, Papa Roach, Fear Factory, and Incite. The latest studio effort from Terror Universal is Make Them Bleed — which was self-produced — was released on January 19th by minusHEAD Records. The album was years in the making and also features guest appearances by guest bassists John Moyer (Disturbed, Art Of Anarchy, Adrenaline Mob) and Tony Campos (Fear Factory, Ministry, Soulfly, Static-X).

The quartet — which consists of vocalist Plague, drummer, Massacre, guitarist Thrax and bassist Diabolus — is largely shrouded in mystery. However, I was able to speak with Plague for Hype. More on Terror Universal can be found online at www.terroruniversal.com.

Make Them Bleed is your new album. How long did you spend making it?

Plague: That’s a good question. Not that I don’t know, but it will take a bit of explaining to shed at least a little light on this subject. The first half of the album was written before I joined the project and was released as an EP in Australia. It was out for a few months before I was even approached to be a part of the project. Since the band, at the time, was currently touring the EP, the transition between me and the parting singer was a quick trial by fire experience. I hadn’t truly listened to any of the material prior to it being emailed to me so I had to basically learn all songs on an airplane headed to the tryout, which was basically just a rehearsal before their next show and my first show with the band.

After getting the gig, I had to quickly adjust to these new people and their different writing styles before I could comfortably bring anything material wise to the table. You can’t just jump in and say “Hey, I’ve got this new song, tell me what you think.” You must first find out if you even have anything in common with these people. In most cases this would take a bit of time, but thankfully the guys turned out to be an amazingly professional group of individuals that I have come to trust. I rerecorded the prior singer’s vocals in and around a two-week period. Now with all the “foreplay,” so to speak, out of the way, one can pick up the disconnected cables like “Doc On The Clocktower” and reestablish the connection to get back to business. So that’s about two and a half years right there in a nutshell for the first part of the record. The second half was written and recorded in about two months. That’s the best answer I can give you. (laughs)

Around how many songs did you write for Bleed?

Plague: Lyrically I can truly put my name on five of the ten songs with a couple of those being co-written with some very talented writers.

Do you have a favorite song on the new album?

Plague: The song “Through The Mirrors” has a comfortable cushy recliner within the living room of my soul. It’s happy there. I also like “Dead On Arrival.” I wrote it in the memory of George A. Romero. Thanks to a special little black and white film he made, my life has been quite the ride.

Where did the name “Terror Universal” name come from? Did you ever worry that it may pigeonhole the band?

Plague: I once knew this girl in high school who was afraid of black velvet, not the beverage, but the actual fabric itself. When I asked her “why?” she replied to me, “because it reminds me of the hair that covers a black widow spider.” She didn’t mind red velvet or blue velvet Just black velvet. Later on in the year, I had a science class with her and to my surprise, I witnessed her holding a wolf spider in the palm of her hand. I questioned her, “I thought you were afraid of spiders,” she then said “no, I love spiders, they’re my life. I just don’t like black widows.” I then said, “oh, i get it, because of it being poisonous.” She replied, “no, because I don’t like the name.” Later on, she reached out to me during the MySpace era and would you believe it, she had this black widow-themed page. She even had some ink on her body of black widows. I didn’t bother questioning it. So the answer to one of your questions is within that story somewhere. As far as the origins of the name goes, you’ll have to ask Massacre for that one.

Given that your band has such a heavy name, who is the softest artist you regularly listen to?

Plague: I don’t really listen to “heavy metal” these days anymore, to be quite honest. Sure, I was a walking talking metalhead in my youth, but I kinda rewound while fast-forwarding so to speak. I’m not one of those “pretend to listen to classical” types who just say they do to obscure the way they are viewed by society or an ex. I actually do appreciate it. It also helps with my tinnitus opposed to worsening it.

It’s widely known that Terror Universal includes current and former members of Machine Head, Soulfly, Upon A Burning Body and Ill Nino. Do you like the idea of being called an “all-star band?”

Plague: Hey, if it helps the listener to pay a little mind at first, then so be it. Who knows, maybe they might hear one of their favorite artists break out of their pre-decorated egg shells and further witness the sheer talent this individual truly beholds under a different light.

How did the idea to work with PledgeMusic on Make Them Bleed come about?

Plague: Again, this is a door that Massacre would have the keys to.

Are there any projects that you have been working on outside of Terror Universal?

Plague: Of course, I’m a musician.

When not busy with music, how do you like to spend your free time?

Plague: I am a filmmaker. There is nothing else in this world that I would allow to jeopardize that fact.

Make Them Bleed aside, what’s been your favorite album of 2017?

Plague: Add Violence by Nine Inch Nails — let’s just say it grew on me.

Is there something you wished more people knew about Terror Universal?

Plague: Most things about this band is a secret. We’ve only allowed people to know certain things about it. There is a plan here, an order of operations, so to speak. So far it has been honored to an exact precision. I can’t wait till everything is finally unveiled so that people can see the reasons behind it, the design of it. It will be, to say the least, quite the face-melter.

Finally, Plague, any last words for the kids?

Plague: Be yourselves while letting others be theirs, push the envelope, and don’t take yourself too seriously.

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Tags: George Romero, Ill Nino, Machine Head, MySpace, Nine Inch Nails, PledgeMusic, Soulfly, Terror Universal

About the Author

Darren Paltrowitz Darren Paltrowitz is a New York resident with over 20 years of entertainment industry experience. He began working around the music business as a teenager, interning for the manager of his then-favorite band Superdrag. Since then, he has worked with a wide array of artists including OK Go, They Might Be Giants, Mike Viola, Tracy Bonham, Loudness, Rachael Yamagata, and Amanda Palmer. Darren's writing has appeared in dozens of outlets including the New York Daily News, Inquisitr, The Daily Meal, The Hype Magazine, All Music Guide, Guitar World, TheStreet.com, Businessweek, Chicago Tribune, L.A. Times, and the Jewish Journal. Beyond being "Editor At Large" for The Hype Magazine, Darren is also the host of weekly "Paltrocast With Darren Paltrowitz" series, which airs on dozens on television and digital networks. He has also co-authored 2 published books, 2018's "Pocket Change: Your Happy Money" (Book Web Publishing) and 2019's "Good Advice From Professional Wrestling" (6623 Press), and co-hosts the world's only known podcast about David Lee Roth, "The DLR Cast."