September 16th, 2014 
Brian Leak 
“Does real hip-hop still live or is hip-hop dead?”
Many have asked the question and the debate rages on, but are The Voices of Terror the saviors the genre needs? If you ask them, the answer is a resounding “yes.” Reaching beyond the stale cliches and themes of money, women and material possessions, Mike Walker and Zero aim to bring something fresh to the world of hip-hip music, adding an element of rock for good measure.
Having just officially began as a duo with the release of their debut, Rock-Rap Dynasty, The Voices Of Terror are prepared to begin leaving their mark on the industry as they perform for the first time this weekend in Pennsylvania. Before that though, we had the chance to speak with them about their goals and confidences as musicians who strive to make a difference in the scene. You can read our conversation below.
Tell me a little about your histories with music and how you feel they lead to what you guys are creating today. Were you raised around music in your homes?
We honestly didn’t grow up around any music besides what we heard on the radio and rap mixtapes. We then fell in love with the hardcore rap flavor. Later in life we were playing Guitar Hero and discovered rock music. We loved how rock brought power and passion to the track. We had already been rapping as kids, trying to mimic what we heard on mixtapes, now we have created our own unique style merging hip-hop and rock together bringing passion and meaning into our songs.
Before this project began, were you guys involved with any other musical endeavors?
This is our first project and attempt to get our sound out to the world. We believe we have a style that a lot of people might latch on to. In the music world, every fan is looking for the next new artist or some kind of material that is new and fresh and has never been heard before. With The Voices of Terror, we are bringing back the rock and hip-hop genre that fans once loved also with some unique elements in our music that separates us from the others who have done this.
And how did you you two come together originally to create The Voices of Terror?
We grew up together in the same home. Mike started messing around and creating some beats. At that point we decided that we should make some original music. Our goal in creating this group and creating this original music was to not only catch everyone’s ears with our unique beats and rhythms but to also captivate the listeners with our hardcore, passionate and intimidating lyrics, and so that’s how The Voices of Terror were born.
You combine some pretty unique elements in your music, as you mentioned. How would you describe your sound more in depth to a new potential listener?
Our music brings edge and a breath of fresh air to hip-hop. We wanted to remove ourselves from what every other artist was doing in today’s hip-hop because nowadays, people forgot what authentic and true hip-hop really is and The Voices of Terror needed to refresh their memory through rock and hip-hop. When you listen to every one of our tracks, we throw in those rock elements to provide a certain type of drive and no matter what the pace of the beat is, that drive will get you pumped up from the beginning of the song until the end. When you hear the percussion in our tracks, we give it that authentic rap flavor that will always keep your head nodding to the beat to help push every song in a certain direction. That direction is that every song from The Voices of Terror will leave you rocking and wanting more. The Voices of Terror are here to bring in a new era of rock and authentic rip-rop and it’s time that the world knows and hears about it, too.
The rock/rap mashup has been done by some big acts; everyone from Anthrax and Public Enemy, to Body Count, to Limp Bizkit. Who would you say are some of your biggest influences that have helped shape your sound?
We personally listen to a lot of artists such as Linkin Park, Disturbed, 2Pac, and DMX. We like the certain characteristics that each artist portrays in their music. For example, Linkin Park has the alternative rock and hip-hop style along with elements of electronica and metal that makes them diverse. Disturbed provides that edgy heavy metal sound with fascinating and captivating vocals from their singer, David Draiman. 2Pac always had the music world in the palm of his hands by being who he really was inside and outside of music. It was always displayed in his passionate lyrics, in every one of his interviews, and every song that he has ever written from the time he rose to stardom until his tragic death. DMX really defined the genre of hardcore rap. With his gritty lyrics and the trademark growl and bark of a dog, DMX was not your average rap artist and he ended up taking the hip-hop world by storm. All these artists we have mentioned have contributed a huge role in their specific genres and that is what The Voices of Terror are looking forward to doing as artists. We want to take the world by storm by creating a new unique sound that music fans will love worldwide. Every artist has put in a unique role in the era of music and now I believe that it’s time for The Voices of Terror to contribute our sound to the industry of music.
So let’s talk about Rock-Rap Dynasty. As a debut album, what were your focuses when writing and recording as far as what you wanted to make a statement with out of the gate?
We wanted to show the music world that hip-hop isn’t about who has the most cars, who has the most money or degrading women in any type of form or fashion. Hip-hop is based on writing what comes from your heart. It is like a rhythmic story that needs to be told for the world to hear. We just wanted to express how we felt as individuals, how we feel about the state of hip-hop, and just let it all loose on the record. We went from a time in hip-hop where every rapper had a certain message and displayed their messages through song to where now every rapper can’t write anything except for all the money, women, and cars they believe they have. It has really caused a major setback in the era of hip-hop causing the genre to grow stale with many fans around the world asking the same question, “Does real hip-hop still live or is hip-hop dead?” The Voices of Terror are here to resolve that problem. Real hip-hop still lives in the souls of Mike Walker and Zero and we will display that in every single track you hear from us. This is only the beginning.
Are there any specific lyrical themes or concepts to the record? Any hidden messages or anything like that?
The concept of The Voices of Terror is to go hard and just stay true to who you really are. Write what you believe in. Everything doesn’t have to be about sex, money, or drugs to catch someone’s eyes or ears. Everybody in life has a story that needs to be told and the world is waiting to hear it whether it’s through poetry, music, or a written biography. Don’t try to stretch yourself to desperate measures to fit in with a certain crowd because that’s how everyone else makes it to where they are today. This is the time to stand out from all the rest. The Voices of Terror do not want to be just like 2Pac or DMX. We want to be The Voices of Terror to the best of our abilities. This is our only shot and we are looking to make an impact on music with this opportunity.
Since releasing the album, what have you been working on? Have you been playing this new material live at all?
We have been promoting our debut album at the same time getting ready to perform our first live show as a group coming up Saturday, September 20 in Ardmore, PA. This is everyone’s first real look at The Voices of Terror and we are looking to really give everyone a general idea of who we are whether it is live or in the studio. There is a saying that goes, “What you see is what you get.” With The Voices of Terror, what the people will see is two energetic rappers giving everything they have to their love and passion of music with a whole new sound. What the people will get is a performance that will leave everybody rocking and spreading the word about the upcoming New Jersey duo and that we are ready to step our foot into the door of the music industry with some new material that more and more people deserve to hear.
On your Facebook page, you wrote that you’re “destined for greatness” and that your “time will come.” What do you feel you bring to the table that’s going to make this become a reality?
For us, it is a goal and a challenge. Our ambition will drive us to achieve what we want to accomplish in music. What we are bringing to the table is a whole new sound of rock and hip-hop. We know that it is a great risk and with great risk comes great reward. You can’t change the course of history or music by sitting in the background. We wouldn’t know about Jimi Hendrix or Jackie Robinson or Martin Luther King if they didn’t take on any goals or challenges that they set their sights on. Everybody wants to be famous and change the world in any type of way but nobody wants to put the time and effort into making their goals a reality. To make this goal become a reality, The Voices of Terror have to keep providing rock and authentic hip-hop and stay true to our sound we have created because someone will hear it and bring it to the light of every music fan and they will latch on and our material can spread like wildfire. One fan can turn into millions. The Voices of Terror have a lot to offer and it shows in every one of our tracks.
Do you think the rap/rock market is still vibrant or do you foresee any barriers with trying to break through to a more mainstream audience within the genre?
We believe it is going to be a challenge in the rap/rock market but we also believe that we have enough creativity to make some noise in the music industry and that’s what we plan to do. We want to bring everyone back to the world of rock and hip-hop. You had your Rage Against the Machine and Aerosmith rocking with Run DMC telling everybody to “Walk This Way” but now we believe that with all the unique elements and talent we display, The Voices of Terror can really put their fingerprints on this genre. We want to look back years from now and say that we did it our way and didn’t have to play “follow the leader” like every other artist tries to do in today’s industry.
From here on out, what do you have planned for TVOT? Any big goals or plans in the works?
We just want to keep on promoting our style of music to the world. We have some new song ideas that we are excited about to start up soon. All in all, we just want to keep on getting better and bring more awesome original music to the public. We strive to be great and get better at our craft. Nobody becomes a great artist by just waiting for a handout. The Voices of Terror are looking to grab the brass ring. We know it is not spoon-fed to us or handed to us on a silver platter. In life, you have to go and get what you are striving for. Our plan is for The Voices of Terror to be remembered as a group who didn’t play by the rules and brought rap back to where it truly needed to be.
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