An album begins with chimes in ghostly King Diamond style, gloomy keyboards drift by in the background like wafts of mist. Then, all of a sudden, thunderous drums, melodic guitars and a harsh voice appear, the mood shifts to menacing. The opening title track picks up speed like a bulldozer, blasting away in a really refreshing way, integrating heavy, corky rhythms and highly melodic guitar lines later on. The alternation between rolling riffs and lush blasts also works smoothly as the song progresses. The tenacious doom interludes and variable double vocals result in a partly grinding, partly aggressive overall construct that incessantly grinds everything down. The sound is clear and transparent and brings out the rhythm-focused neck-breaking riffs well. You immediately feel at home with this nostalgic volume of sound and are served simple groove monsters in the Six Feet Under or Asphyx-like songs, which are finely contrasted by gentle melodies (the instrumental Embers Of Humanity). Most of the time, however, this work mercilessly screws our heads off - this is the rhythm where the headbanger simply has to join in! There are rarely any surprises, but the clean vocals on Merchants Of Bloodshed, for example, are not only unexpected, but also damn cool - more of that, pleasantly reminiscent of God Dethroned on Passiondale.
The irresistibly lumbering Dying Alive bangs archaically over us like a primal force, focusing on a straightforward, uncompromising presentation with a few acoustic surprises.
TERMINAL NATION concentrate on deadly hitting grooves, keep melodic leads in the background and set accents on this down-to-earth headbanger work with vocals that take some getting used to.
Recommended for fans of: Asphyx, Six Feet Under, Crowbar, God Dethroned, Baest, Lay Down Rotten