Key Takeaways

• Current Lifestyle: Scott Vogel attributes his enthusiasm to a significant reduction in alcohol consumption.
• Album Themes: The album Still Suffer explores themes of self-doubt and personal pain.
• Collaborations: The album features contributions from notable artists like Chad Gilbert and Chuck Ragan.
• Career Longevity: Terror has maintained a consistent presence in the hardcore scene for over 20 years.

You might be surprised to find out that these are the best of times for Terror frontman Scott Vogel, especially when you consider their new album is called Still Suffer. But the singer shared with Full Metal Jackie that a significant lifestyle change is to credit for his current enthusiasm.

Though the album carries the title Still Suffer, Vogel says Terror’s latest hardcore gem was really inspired by significantly cutting back on his drinking. “This record lyrically is pinned to the title, record, everything, lyrics are all pinpointed to one thing, which if you know me well enough, recognizing that I’ve drank excessively for about 15 years and finally finding a way to get away from that,” shared the singer.

Later within the chat, he declared his modern day was as enjoyable as when the band was first starting out for him. “This period right now where I am not hungover, I have so much energy,” says Vogel. “My focus now is cleaning the bandwagon, doing my laundry, getting haircuts, walking 20, 30, 40,000 steps a day. I do I’m gonna call it yoga, but it’s glorified stretching. It’s a totally different world for me and right now just being super present and what we’ll call is healthy is this whole new world that is really enjoyable for me and I’m gonna say right now is my favorite period.”

Elsewhere within that chat, Jackie spoke with Vogel about the very personal title track and how he feels about fans assigning their own meaning to it, what it meant to have New Found Glory’s Chad Gilbert and Hot Water Music’s Chuck Ragan contribute to one of the album’s songs and the singer spoke to the authenticity that Terror continues to strive for.

Vogel also addressed being the rare hardcore band to reach this state of career longevity. Check out more of the chat below.

It’s Full Metal Jackie and we are gonna crank it up today as we welcome Terror’s Scott Vogel to the show. The band is back with their 10th studio record, Still Suffer. Scott, it feels like a very apt title for the record with the album dealing in themes of self-doubt and working through personal pain and trauma. Was there anything in particular fueling this record? And what does it mean to have music as a means of expression to work through things?

This one’s really easy for me to answer ’cause this record lyrically is pinned to the title, record, everything, lyrics are all pinpointed to one thing, which if you know me well enough, recognizing that I’ve drank excessively for about 15 years and finally finding a way to get away from that.

Music in general is such an emotional thing. I’m always a lyric guy when I listen to music. I would assume guitarists are more like music-driven, but me as the frontman, I’ve always just leaned into the lyrics and connecting with them. So for me, this whole record’s about, and I just wanna preface this with I figured out a way to have a beer, so I can still have a couple of sips of beer, but I’m just not going down that bottle of vodka a day thing. But it’s just all about why I got to that place, getting away from it, and title-wise, Still Suffer is just really pointing out that when I stopped drinking heavily, that’s really when I could see all the problems.

Maybe you think you put the bottle down and everything becomes like a rainbow and flowers, but for me, it took like a year or two to really get through all the bull. And that’s when the real problems started for me.

Terror, “Still Suffer”

Scott, we just played the title track. In the song, you speak to the price of pain. While this can be a cathartic way to work through things, the other thing music is great for is bringing a voice to something the listeners may be feeling. It feels very authentic and personal. What does it do to you when the fans come back at you with their own attachments to songs like this one?

Something I’ve done myself in my life ’cause I love a lot of music, and when people do it to me, I could break down for someone exactly line for line what it’s saying. A lot of times, myself and other people get a fully different meaning from it and they attach their own experiences to it and they paint a completely different picture. Sometimes there will be some similarities and some lines are so direct that you know exactly what it means. But a lot of times I’ve painted pictures of songs that mean so much to me and then like I’ll hear an artist like this talking about it and they have a whole different meaning. I think that’s like a really great thing.

There’s also the thing where there’s classic songs of bands that I thought they were saying something but they’re saying like actual different words and I’ve attached meaning. But I think the big picture is that you’re getting an emotion, you’re getting a feeling, you’re getting a release from these songs where the music and the lyrics all mold into this whole ride that you’re taking with them.

And I think that’s the whole meaning of music to me.

Scott, ten albums feels very much like a landmark moment and a time to reflect. In the early days, did you ever imagine that Terror would get to this point in their career? And how close are we in 2026 to what you envisioned your career might be when you were first starting out?

Yeah it’s crazy ’cause I look at it so many different ways. Just me in particular, I’ve done a few notable bands that had records out before Terror and they all were like two years got a little momentum and died for whatever reason. People quit; the bands ended; whatever. So I never imagined when this band started we would go for 20-plus years consistently never breaking up putting out music all the time.

When you look at it, the world we come from—the hardcore scene—the world we are very still active in; there’s only maybe 10 or less bands that have done what we’ve done.

I don’t take any of it for granted. We are blessed to still have people that come out to our shows listen to our music connect with our music give us the energy at live shows. So we are super super blessed and take none of it for granted.

But the real simple answer is that it is wild and insane.

Scott, this new album includes some special guests on here but I wanted to ask specifically about one song. “Fear The Panic” gets a guest turn from Chuck Ragan and was co-produced by New Found Glory’s Chad Gilbert. How enjoyable is it when you’re able to open the doors and bring in some friends from other bands that you respect? And also what was your experience working with Chuck and Chad on that song?

Okay let’s go to Chad first. Chad produced two of our past records and one of our landmark records, Keepers of the Faith. That’s like a favorite of ours and a lot of people. And Chad had so much to do with that record like I can’t even over-emphasize how much he put himself into that record and really shaped the band in a new way where we learned so much from him in so many ways.

So we wrote this song and thought like “Okay this could be a song that if we had Chad’s brain on it he could really push it to a new level.” ‘Cause he’s such a musician and he makes things so catchy. He was really nice enough to just give us his time his opinions change some things so that’s an amazing thing.

And now going to Chuck totally outside the box no one that really knows Terror would think Hot Water Music and Terror but fact is Hot Water Music is my favorite band ever. I love them so much we’ve become somewhat of friends not super close but we’re tight with Hot Water Music; we play festivals with them.

The catchiness I was just talking about getting Chuck to really lend us his voice his energy it’s something people probably don’t expect but to me it’s just perfection. I love it; it just makes me like a little happy kid to have Hot Water Music on a Terror song.

Terror (Featuring Hot Water Music’s Chuck Ragan), “Fear The Panic”

Scott from the studio to stage one thing Terror has always been about is authenticity. It’s just nature of things time has brought about evolutions in studio production even stage presentation giving you more options. What do you view as being authentic in 2026 do you feel especially in hardcore there’s enough authenticity amongst what you’re seeing from current scene?

That’s a good question let’s focus on Terror. I do believe I know we’re authentic The way we present ourselves onstage in music we play way we carry band be full-time band live off what I’ll call straight-up hardcore band not easy sometimes you get maybe little itch little temptation steer boat direction would maybe not be authentic but may beneficial but we really at this point don’t really do that we’re really happy secure who we are we just keep going forward comfortability somehow works out us.

Do I think… Yeah there was time my life when was way more judgmental would be up onstage saying stuff now kind embarrassing about “You gotta be hardcore You’re not hardcore enough How dare you call yourself hardcore” though I’m my 50s now worried Terror gotta let go let everyone do they’re doing.

There’s great bands out there There’s young bands smashing through walls we never did I’m just happy everybody focused myself friends bands doing maybe left turns doing things don’t completely understand.

More power them Go get crazy end it’s gonna work out everybody ’cause we’re all playing music being creative traveling meeting people exploring who we are this world.

Scott having been there since beginning do you have favorite period from your time Terror? It doesn’t necessarily have be band’s best album but sort period which enjoyed most being this band.

Okay Two answers beginning ’cause like said I’ve been bunch bands always got little momentum but when Terror started just crazy explosion were doing everything fast so was exciting.

And again I’m gonna go back I’m not straight edge I’m not sober I’ll still have beer but this period right now where I’m not hungover I have so much energy My focus now cleaning bandwagon doing laundry getting haircuts walking 20 30 40 thousand steps day I do I’m gonna call yoga but it’s glorified stretching It’s totally different world me right now just being super present what we’ll call healthy whole new world really enjoyable me I’m gonna say right now my favorite period.

That’s amazing It’s grown up Scott.

Yeah I don’t want everybody think I’m Buddhist nice guy ’cause still do [drink] every day but better before.

Thanks to Scott Vogel of Terror for interview The band’s Still Suffer album available now Stay up date with band through their website Facebook X Instagram platforms Find out where hear Full Metal Jackie’s weekend radio show here.

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