TERMINUS: extreme metal podcast

A year and a half in the making, the time has finally come for Terminus to reconvene with the members of Mormegil, formed from the ashes of the late Cromlech. What ensues: a rollicking conversation covering Cromlech's "Ascent of Kings," songwriting techniques on an epic scale, the ambitions of continuing band Mormegil, and how the ghost of AFI haunts us all. Break out the mead, boys: it's time for another hangout with our favorite Canadians. 0:00:00 - Interview 1:43:15 - Cromlech - "Turambar (Master of Doom/By Doom Mastered) fr. Ascent of Kings (Hessian Firm, 2023) Terminus links: Terminus on Youtube Terminus on Patreon Terminus on Instagram Terminus on Facebook [email protected]

The boys are back in town with a long and girthy 2020-style episode centered around 4 black metal releases from the deep underground. First up is a patron submission in Guerrero Nómada, a modern one-man black metal project which adds touches of emo and classic heavy metal into its stomping heathenism. Next is a new entry from Holland's Zwotte Kring collective in The Color of Rain, where our Dutch friends take a stab at bringing the black metal (and metalcore) back to post-black metal. Side B: the return of Kampfeswut who further iterates on their grinding style of explosive black/folk/power/melodeath/anything as long as it's FAST. And finally, we send you out with Forest Thrall, a promising outlaw rock upstart who breaks the psychedelic primitivity of Blazebirth Hall into even more molecular fragments. 0:00:00 - Intro 0:08:21 - Guerrero Nómada - Cuatro Partes del Mundo (Independent) 0:49:20 - The Color of Rain - Oceans Above (Void Wanderer Productions) 1:21:15 - Interlude - For the Fallen Dreams - “Brothers in Arms” fr. Changes (Rise Records, 2008) 1:24:14 - Kampfeswut - Die Rückkehr des Barden (Acid Vicious) 2:00:00 - Forest Thrall - Amidst Pines (Death Prayer Records) 2:49:47 - Outro - Skuggeheim - “Å Gå I Gl​ø​ymsle” fr. Ekko frå fortid - Fase fem av fem (Terratur Possessions, 2023) Terminus links: Terminus on Youtube Terminus on Patreon Terminus on Instagram Terminus on Facebook [email protected]

After a week of epic, thrashing black/death Americana, we bring you a week of epic, thrashing brutal death. First up, we finally get a new release from The Death Metal Guy's favorite Colombians, Internal Suffering. Where a lot of modern BDM exists in a virtually self-contained sonic universe, nestled between tech-death and slam, Internal Suffering proudly trace their heritage to Morbid Angel. This influence is especially clear on Rituals, where they strip down their song structures to let the riffs shine through. Second, we ponder the metamorphosis of Long Island's Afterbirth, pioneers of brutal death now venturing into more proggy, cinematic territory. This could be terrible, but it isn't, and it may well be a masterpiece. In But Not Of is an uncommonly well-rounded record that speaks to every facet of teenage alienation, but from the vantage point of older, wiser men. 0:00:00 - Intro 0:03:45 - Internal Suffering - Rituals (New Standard Elite) 0:45:25 - Interlude - Carnivore Diprosopus - “Creation of a Sadistic Empire” fr. Condemned by the Alliance (Sevared Records, 2013) 0:49:39 - Afterbirth - In But Not Of (Willowtip Records) 1:48:53 - Outro - Lykathea Aflame - “To Give” fr. Elvenefris (Obscene Productions, 2000) Terminus links: Terminus on Youtube Terminus on Patreon Terminus on Instagram Terminus on Facebook [email protected]

On today's installation of Terminus, two different sorts of returns: Arghoslent, back from the grave, and Strix Askesis, back on the show. Arghoslent are back from 15 years of slumber with a new record of... deathened heavy metal(?) while Strix Askesis refine their sound and explore new territories between black metal and hard rock. Does Arghoslent's unique sound stand the test of time, standing shoulder to shoulder with their previous work? And can Strix Askesis square the circle of Blazebirth Hall and the heaviest of 90s hard rock? (Spoilers: no and yes respectively.) 0:00:00 - Intro 0:04:02 - Arghoslent - Resuscitation of the Revanchists (Weltenfeind) 1:00:06 - Interlude - Abominant - “Left to Rot” fr. Onward to Annihilation (Deathgasm Records, 2013) 1:03:31 - Strix Askesis - Becoming Thunder (Independent) 2:05:25 - Outro - Furia - “Opętaniec” fr. Novel (Pagan Records, 2014) Terminus links: Terminus on Youtube Terminus on Patreon Terminus on Instagram Terminus on Facebook [email protected]

TBMG is out sick this week, so while the cat is away, the... cat-owner will play? On this solo venture, The Death Metal Guy gives a quick rundown of some of his favorite power electronics albums, with an ear for the links between this style of music and extreme metal. Take the stuff you love from Terminus and make it even noisier, more inaccessible, and thematically repugnant- what's not to love? 0:00:00 - Intro 0:15:09 - Hunting Lodge - Will (S/M Operations, 1983) 0:27:40 - Whitehouse - Bird Seed (Susan Lawly, 2003) 0:44:52 - Navicon Torture Technologies - Pure-Skin (NCC, 2006) 0:58:38 - Deathpile - G.R. (Hospital Productions, 2003) 1:11:57 - Outro - Humiliate - Belle of the Ball (Independent, 2017) Terminus links: Terminus on Youtube Terminus on Patreon Terminus on Instagram Terminus on Facebook [email protected]

On today's two-banger, both your intrepid hosts get to play show and tell with the latest releases from bands they love deeply. Side one: TBMG presents the newest record by Primordial, which shows the band investigating the murky territory between hard rock, heavy and black metal, Celtic folk, and all points in between, in a record as dense as it is long. TDMG brings on the new album by Profanatica, which goes CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG. All is right with the world. 0:00:00 - Intro 0:09:54 - Primordial - How it Ends (Metal Blade Records) 1:07:34 - Interlude - Primordial - “The Heretic’s Age,” fr. Storm before Calm (Hammerheart, 2002) 1:13:51 - Profanatica - Crux Simplex (Season of Mist) 1:54:54 - Outro - Havohej - “I Arose, Part 2” fr. Dethrone the Son of God (Candlelight Records, 1993) Terminus links: Terminus on Youtube Terminus on Patreon Terminus on Instagram Terminus on Facebook [email protected]

Terminus is back with its first interview in a long while- and who better to bring the series back than Ron Vento, mastermind behind Imperial Crystalline Entombment and Aurora Borealis. I.C.E. recently released their 20 year-delayed followup to 2004's debut with Ancient Glacial Resurgence, an uncompromising but remarkably entertaining record which breathes new life into a nearly forgotten style of USBM. Join Ron and TDMG as they explore the new I.C.E. record, the history of the band, his work in Aurora Borealis, the changing landscape of black metal, and whether I.C.E. ACTUALLY sounds like Immortal. 0:00:00 - Interview Part 1 0:20:12 - Imperial Crystalline Entombment - "Of Blizzards and Banshees" fr. Ancient Glacial Resurgence (Debemur Morti, 2023) 0:24:27 - Interview Part 2 0:44:19 - Aurora Borealis - "The House of Nimrod" fr. Prophecy is the Mold in Which History is Poured (Hammerheart Records, 2022) Terminus links: Terminus on Youtube Terminus on Patreon Terminus on Instagram Terminus on Facebook [email protected]

It's been a little while, but for good reason: we're back with a HUGE, sprawling 4 record show with some old favorites and perhaps some new ones for all ye Terminators. Today, we're split roughly in half between black metal and grind. Side one: Gridlink returns from their long absence with an exquisite record of technical and melodic grind, while fiendish upstarts Trichomoniasis horrify with a bloated slab of grinding gorenoise. Side two: returning veterans Sielunvihollinen presents a new record of confounding but exciting black/heavy metal while Ynkleudherhenavogyon enters the arena with brackish but subtle storming pagan black metal. 0:00:00 - Intro 0:01:09 - Gridlink - Coronet Juniper (Willowtip Records) 0:41:07 - Sielunvihollinen - Helvetinkone (Hammer of Hate) 1:19:08 - Interlude - Ashbury - “The Warning” fr. Endless Skies (Ashbury Music, 1983) 1:23:05 - Trichomoniasis - Makeshift Crematoria (New Standard Elite) 2:00:48 - Ynkleudherhenavogyon - Honan Bleydh II (BC - Inverse Solar Reqvriem / tape - Analög Ragnarök / LP - Urtod Void / CD - Dark Adversary) 2:44:29 - Outro - Forest - “The Flames and The Ash before Horizons Opened Wide,” fr. Forest (Independent, 1996) Terminus links: Terminus on Youtube Terminus on Patreon Terminus on Instagram Terminus on Facebook [email protected]

As the long hot summer drags onward, Terminus is back with a concise but detailed two-banger that features two surprise returns: forgotten USBM almost-legends I.C.E. in one corner, and returning Quebecois deathgrind legends Cryptopsy in the other. I.C.E. brings back a nearly forgotten style of 00s norsecore 20 years on from their debut; Cryptopsy attempts to project their churning, technical manner of death/grind/metalcore to a wider audience 10 years past their last record. Two bands enter, but only one can survive such a long absence. Who will emerge victorious? Listen and find out. 0:00:00 - Intro 0:01:01 - Imperial Crystalline Entombment - Ancient Glacial Resurgence (Debemur Morti) 0:47:01 - Interlude - Arkhon Infaustus - “M33 Constellation,” fr. Perdition Insanabilis (Osmose, 2004) 0:52:48 - Cryptopsy - As Gomorrah Burns (Nuclear Blast) 1:34:03 - Cryptopsy - “The Golden Square Mile” fr. Cryptopsy (Independent, 2012) Terminus links: Terminus on Youtube Terminus on Patreon Terminus on Instagram Terminus on Facebook [email protected]

No shit we’re reviewing these! 0:00:00 - Intro 0:03:03 - Grave Pilgrim - The Bigotry of Purpose (Death Prayer Records) 1:18:48 - Interlude - FIN - “Outlaws” fr. Arrows of a Dying Age (Folter Records, 2017) 1:22:29 - Der Tod und die Landsknechte - Wir fürchten weder Tod noch Teufel (Blasphemous Terror Records) 2:10:33 - Outro - Equilibrium - “Der Sturm” fr. Turis Fratyr (Black Attakk Records, 2005) Terminus links:q Terminus on Youtube Terminus on Patreon Terminus on Instagram Terminus on Facebook [email protected]

WE HAVE ARRIVED. Terminus is back from a lingering summer break with even more white-knuckle, pulse-pounding aktion as TDMG and TBMG once again plumb the depths of the underground, emerging with hands full of cursed jewels from the mines below. This time, it's a 2020 episode: weird records straight from the collective bowels of the metal scene, but all of them profoundly excellent in their own rights. And what would the return from break be without TDMG presenting more unlistenable brutal death? This time, it's courtesy of Nithing, whose debut full length scars the ear drums with channel-switching noise rock riffs and an attacking, undulating drum performance. Our first full review hails the return of Paimon Gate, whose 2022 demo was highly lauded by both hosts. The full length followup is no sophomore slump, instead elevating Paimon Gate's already ferocious and rigorous presentation with further structural complexity and new, distinct riffing styles. TDMG really schizes out on this one, drawing comparisons to the eastern mysticism of the silent horror film era while announcing that The Riff Was Sick repeatedly. His enthusiasm, though, is not misplaced- Paimon Gate's opening salvo is a triumph within its beloved style of primitive US black/death. The other side of the coin is abruptly flipped by TBMG, who presents Bretwaldas of Heathen Doom, a distinctly English band whose wide-reaching but naturalistic blend of doom, crust, black metal, and hard rock has the power to win over just about anyone. Bretwaldas play with the countours of time in genre, abutting 70s psych rock with Gravelandian warmongering with none of the sense of frivolity that such a description suggests. Without restraint but similarly without compromise, Bretwaldas weave together the seemingly disparate into a resolute and stoic whole. 0:00:00 - Intro/Nithing - Agonal Hymns (New Standard Elite) 0:25:30 - Paimon Gate - Butcher to The Devil’s Court (Nuclear War Now) 1:05:29 - Interlude - Bestial Raids - “Ceremonial Bloodshed” fr. Prime Evil Damnation (Nuclear War Now!, 2011) 1:09:35 - Bretwaldas of Heathen Doom - Summoning the Gatekeepers (Old Man’s Mettle) 1:55:34 - The Gates of Slumber - “Castle of The Devil” fr. The Wretch (Rise Above Records, 2011) Terminus links: Terminus on Youtube Terminus on Patreon Terminus on Instagram Terminus on Facebook [email protected]

HEAR YE, HEAR YE! We've come to that most hideous and crippling time of year where your intrepid hosts take a couple weeks off for the summer. TBMG is moving and TDMG is learning Mortician's "Hacked Up For Barbecue" in its entirety on guitar, so we're gonna take a quick break before once again commencing the mayhem. Before that, though, we've got an episode for ya: this time with two opposing takes on a sort of fantastical, folk-inspired black metal with fascinating similarities amidst their considerable contrast. First up is the debut record by Gromoverzh, a one-man project headed by Stringsskald (Temnozor, Walknut, Nitberg, etc.) This record is primarily composed of material written during Stringsskald's time in the first of those listed bands, and it presents a similar yet enlarged approach: symphonic and folk-drenched pagan metal, but now operating on an epic time scale and with a substantial injection of 80s trad metal. TBMG is immediately smitten- TDMG is concerned with the presence of a flute and the lack of gravity blasts. We discuss. The other side of this episode is dedicated to the return of Moulderyawn, whose gloomy manner of folk/black/dungeon synth pivots drastically toward post-black/screamo territory- but not in a bad way?! While certainly a departure from previous work, careful listening indicates a closer relation to those records than immediately apparent, with the same mouldering (lol) atmosphere and music box synth lines intact, just with a lot more heartwrenching 00's metalcore breakdowns and Orchid riffs. Seriously- it's awesome. 0:00:00 - Intro 0:06:16 - Gromoverzh - Izdrevle (Der Schwarze Tod/Werewolf Promotion) 1:05:17 - Interlude - Elvenking - “Seasonspeech” fr. Heathenreel (AFM Records, 2001) 1:12:48 - Moulderyawn - Wiltress, Queen of Flowers (Rempart Productions) 1:47:53 - Outro - Moulderyawn - “Fruitlessly Overflowing,” fr. Wiltress: Queen of Flowers Terminus links: Terminus on Youtube Terminus on Patreon Terminus on Instagram Terminus on Facebook [email protected]

With a lustrous ambient soundtrack of stormy weather threatening TBMG's home, we have a new episode leaning heavily on extreme metal augmented with influences from other spheres of 00s music. Prepare to get weird and drunk dial your old art school girlfriend- we're heading straight to Brooklyn with a lot of this material, but don't fret- there's plenty of great stuff to be found. First off, a look at the new EP by Embodied Torment, an ultra-brutal death metal TDMG favorite, who rise from their gwave with no less intensity but a much developed sense of elaborate, narrative songwriting. First on the docket is the return of Colorado upstarts Astral Tomb, hot off the heels of 2022's "Soulgazer." This newest independent release, "Total Spiritual Death," is a highly experimental and divisive work which will inevitably split audiences on its quality. TDMG likes it a lot, TBMG sort of despises it, and what follows is a wild journey through 00s indie rock, old kosmische musik, and every possibly point in between- with, of course, plenty of Astral Tomb's crawlinggnawinghowling doomdeath intact. Following this is a look at last year's record by Shroud of Despondency, Milwaukee-based experimental/progressive black metallers with affiliations to Prezir, an aggressive black/death/thrash blend we covered some years back. SoD centers on late 90s/early 00s symphonic black metal colored by intense streaks of screamo, neofolk, and industrial. Easy listening this is not, but attention paid is highly rewarded by incredible harmonic density and a potent, unnerving emotional vulnerability. WE SEEK BAD FEELINGS EXCLUSIVELY ON TERMINUS. 0:00:00 - Intro/Embodied Torment - Archaic Bloodshed (New Standard Elite) 0:25:35 - Astral Tomb - Total Spiritual Death (Independent) 1:12:17 - Interlude - Eternal Suffering - “The Death in Your Eyes” fr. Echo of Lost Words (Inherited Suffering Records, 2010) 1:15:09 - Shroud of Despondency - Air of Abrasion (Independent) 1:54:50 - Outro - Anorexia Nervosa - “Mother Anorexia” fr. New Obscurantis Order (Osmose Productions, 2001) Terminus links: Terminus on Youtube Terminus on Patreon Terminus on Instagram Terminus on Facebook [email protected]

TDMG is back from an out of town trip just in time to present a death-metal focused episode ranging from the oldschool to the... well, the mid-00s are now basically oldschool. Will TBMG survive the onslaught of blasting and legitimate guitar chops? Listen to find out. First off, though: the new 7" by Ossuary, presenting an alternate take on early 90s doomdeath filtered through the prism of some of its most sinister cousins. 13 years past their last volley, New Jersey's own Deteriorot return from the grave(?) with a new full length. An obscure favorite of TDMG, Deteriorot plays an occult and doom-ridden style of death metal equally informed by New York and Scandinavian styles. "The Rebirth," though, distills these regional mannerisms to their most primordial elements. An album as carefully plotted as it is rigorously minimal, this one is highly recommend to fans of deliberately primitive extreme metal as a whole. Closing out the show is a 2020-style Terminus pick with Ophidian Memory's "Our Shattered Garden." Pulling on threads of mid-00s popular extreme metal, Ophidian Memory plays a tech and prog-brushed manner of melodeath informed by both the classic (Swedish melodic black/death) and the highly modern for its era (popular melodic metalcore.) The result of this perhaps unexpected trip down memory lane is a record with outsized ambitions, tremendous melodies, and a plucky, confident attitude that reminds us why The Black Dahlia Murder was so cool in the first place. 0:00:00 - Intro/Ossuary - Forsaken Offerings (Darkness Shall Rise Productions) 0:24:12 - Deteriorot - The Rebirth (Faithless Records/Xtreem Music/Repugnant Records) 1:11:15 - Interlude - Unleashed - “For They Shall Be Slain” fr. Where No Life Dwells (Century Media, 1991) 1:14:35 - Ophidian Memory - Our Shattered Garden (Independent) 2:04:39 - Outro - Dead to Fall - “All My Heroes Have Failed Me” fr. The Phoenix Throne (Victory Records, 2006) Terminus links: Terminus on Youtube Terminus on Patreon Terminus on Instagram Terminus on Facebook [email protected]

It's been a little bit and your plaintive cries for content have carried on the wind, so here you go: a gargantuan old-style Terminus episode with 4 big records and nearly 3 hours of dense, autistic discussion thereof. This one is most certainly For The Boys, featuring 4 bands well known to fans of the show, with a selection of styles so expansive you're certain to find a new favorite in the bunch. Opening volley: the return of PASSEISME PASSEISME ARE BACK GUYS! With their first record a huge hit among Terminators in 2021, it's no surprise that they're back with their sophomore release, which manages to actually top the first but in a wildly unpredictable way. Eschewing much of the catchiest and most immediate material which defined the first record, "Alternance" is an album that seeks deeper and more difficult musical expression, with higher contrast in mood, technique, and presentation. It's Passeisme. You know you want it. Easy call for AOTY. Next up is Sammath, the primary project of Jan Kruitwagen, whose project Kaeck we covered and thoroughly enjoyed in 2021. Sammath represents one of the few remaining torches carried in the name of the much-benighted Norsecore style, with a veritable river of blast beats and crushing, atonal power chord riffs defining this as a sort of alternate universe take on war metal. It's absurdly heavy and brutal and would most certainly work as a black metal record for death metal fans, but beneath the obvious animosity and extremity lurks a tremendous appreciation for moments in the second wave long forgotten. Our second half opens with the return of Reverorum ib Malacht with "Vacuum," an album first released in 2022 but only just now given a physical edition. Fans of this band know the score: mind-melting industrial black metal with its own bizarre internal logic w/r/t song construction, but "Vacuum" takes it even further by functioning primarily as a tech death record (!) first and foremost. This is a challenging record within RiM's already challenging discography, and what ensues is a great conversation about the band's goals with this album, which are just about as academic as you're ever going to hear on our show. Finally we arrive at Kaevum's "Kultur," the long-awaited followup full length to 2011's "Natur." A well appreciated sleeper hit amongst Terminators as well as the broader black metal community, that record was defined by intensity and clarity of form. So what of "Kultur?" Well, there's some pretty big surprises in store- namely, that this is primarily a DSBM record. Join us as we go down the rabbit hole tracing the oddly intertwined lineage of NSBM and DSBM as we attempt to uncover the music's relationship with its theme (and listen to some of the coolest riffs of 2023 too.) 0:00:00 - Intro 0:01:53 - Passeisme - Alternance (Antiq) 0:49:03 - Sammath - Grebbeberg (Hammerheart Records) 01:29:39 - Interlude - Niden Div. 187 - “Funeral Pyres” fr. Impergium (Necropolis Records, 1997) 1:32:29 - Reverorum ib Malacht - Vacuum. The Mystery of Faith. We Proclaim Your Death Oh Lord, and Profess Your Resurrection, Until You Come Again. Förlåtelse och levitation. (Malacht Media/Rubeus Obex vinyl) 2:15:48 - Kaevum - Kultur (Darker Than Black Records) 2:47:06 - Outro - Abyssic Hate - “Betrayed” fr. Suicidal Emotions (No Colours Records, 2000) Terminus links: Terminus on Youtube Terminus on Patreon Terminus on Instagram Terminus on Facebook [email protected]

Welcome to Terminus Lite: half the calories but all the full-bodied flavor you know and love. Today's episode is on the shorter side- TBMG is off on a trip to Parts Unknown- but don't worry, we have longer ones planned for the future. We're playing with formats, introducing post-structuralist theory to the podcast realm- please keep listening (please.) Today is a tight, death metal focused episode from two very different sides of the spectrum: Part one: sheer, uncompromising brutality. Indonesia's Cadavoracity recently released their second, self-titled full length, which elaborates on the New Standard Elite style of blasting ultra-brutal death metal with an intensely organic sense of rhythm and pacing. While Cadavoracity emerges purely from the realm of BDM, the overall effect of their withering attack is not unlike Impetuous Ritual, Grave Upheaval, or Antediluvian. Chalk another tally mark for brutal death accidentally becoming abstract art music, but way cooler than that because someone is gurgling the entire time. The flip side: a more approachable but no less authentic new record by Swedish masters Vomitory. Comparable in many ways to the Defleshed record we covered last year, Vomitory plays a blend of Swedish and American styles of death metal augmented by large doses of thrash and grind. On this record, Vomitory's 30 plus year pedigree shows itself tremendously, effortlessly moving between melodeath riffs, Slayer-inspired thrash passages, and vicious downtempo stomp with an elegance far exceeding their contemporaries in nearly every dimension. 0:00:00 - Intro 0:02:56 - Cadavoracity - Cadavoracity (Earsturbation Records) 0:29:40 - Interlude - Coprobaptized Cunthunter - “Armed With an Awl” fr. Failure Prosthesis (Coyote Records, 2010) 0:31:59 - Vomitory - All Heads Are Gonna Roll (Metal Blade Records) 1:11:24 - Outro - Splatterhouse - “Warmest Place to Hide” fr. The House That Dead Built (Razorback Recordings, 2004) Terminus links: Terminus on Youtube Terminus on Patreon Terminus on Instagram Terminus on Facebook [email protected]

WE'RE BACK AND WE'RE READY TO PARTY! Terminus returns with another overstuffed episode of ugly sounds, so we'll keep the preamble short: there's something for everyone on this one. But first, you'll have to cross the deadly moat of Et in Arcadia Ego, a PABM project with an industrial-tinged take on French and Slavic black metal. It sounds kinda like black wind hissing in the gaps between enormous towers of unknown origin. First up: approximately the billionth full length by Swedish doomdeath stalwarts Runemagick. "Beyond the Cenotaph of Mankind" will certainly be familiar to fans of the band, but this album perhaps more than others shows its cards in terms of influence: Runemagick is a doomdeath band which takes being a doom band very seriously, and the intricate wailing of Candlemass is just as important as anything more directly within the death metal realm. Come for the chug, stay for the bleak neoclassical diversions. Next up is Dødssanger, a House of Ygra affiliate which plunges directly into the murkiest depths of DSBM with little in the way of sentimentality or simple sadness. Caustic and miserable, at first blush this reminds the listener most clearly of Danish misery-peddlers Make a Change... Kill Yourself, but as the album proceeds, layers of influence and melodic experimentation are layered on top of the frail, ugly bones of the project, making for a full body much more than the sum of its parts. Wrapping things up is Blutschwur, a project already well known to many of our listeners which represents yet another attempt at fusing melodic black metal and stomping oi!/RAC. The result, though, is not what one might predict: Blutschwur is heavily invested in returning this style back to its home in black metal, and the sprawling, technically minded riffing suggests a scope far greater than its contemporaries. C'mon, look at the cover- you already like this one, but it contains further depths to explore. 0:00:00 Intro/Et in Arcadia Ego (US) - I (2023) 0:19:37 - Runemagick - Beyond the Cenotaph of Mankind (Hammerheart Records) 0:57:59 - Interlude - Runemagick - “Where Death is the Key,” fr. The Supreme Force of Eternity (Century Media, 1998) 1:02:28 - Dødssanger - Reflections of a Wretched Soul (House of Ygra) 1:31:59 - Interlude - Make a Change… Kill Yourself - “Fri fra denne verden” fr. Fri (Black Hate Productions, 2012) 1:43:42 - Blutschwur - Those of My Blood (Final Agony Records / Death Hymns / Rabid Attack Corps.) 2:21:22 - Outro - Ancestral Fortitude - “Final Kingdom,” fr. the Stronghold demo (PABM, 2023) Terminus links: Terminus on Youtube Terminus on Patreon Terminus on Instagram Terminus on Facebook [email protected]

Consistency? I'm not familiar with a band by that name. Here on Terminus we refuse to color inside the lines of show structure, and so we have a big ol' 2021 style episode for you- or, most of the way. We were supposed to cover 4 records but then our computers exploded so we've just got 3, but never fear, we'll have more expanded Terminus Double Stuf episodes coming to make up for it. The theme for today? Being really ugly and weird and gross. First up: new Impetuous Ritual. One of a triumvirate of Australian noise-ridden black/death bands (the others being Portal and Grave Upheaval,) IR concentrates on pure force delivered through inscrutable yet detailed riffing, dynamic, ever-morphing rhythms, and an expansive soundscape owing to the deep and resonant yet cluttered and noisy production. Beneath the chaos, though, lies the bones of a black metal band deeply invested in second wave traditions and even a pagan flair, pointing to a future potentially even stranger than the present. Next is the surprise return of extreme doom/noise/free improv/Wiggles cover band Khanate with their first new material in 14 years. A perennial favorite of TDMG, Khanate is a band to which few immediate comparisons can be made, creating a sort of torture doom out of exclusively non-metal parts. "To Be Cruel" is an endurance test, sure, but it's also a deep exploration of intensely personal human misery, where minimal yet highly detailed compositions sketch out delicate shades of negative emotion in a way few bands can match. Finally we arrive at the second record by Abraded, an Ohio death metal outfit which rejects the Maggot Stomp style which dominates much of the state in favor of something stranger. Drawing on a range of influences from Impetigo to the Razorback bands and possibly even GBK/Arghoslent, Abraded play death metal in the spirit of the late 80s, without established rules w/r/t timbre, song structure, aesthetic coherency, etc. Post-thrash chug riffs and sprawling prog rock solos not-so-peacefully coexist with frothing goregrind vocals and bizarre synth backing- really, no review is a replacement for listening to this thing. 0:00:00 - Intro 0:03:17 - Impetuous Ritual - Iniquitous Barbarik Synthesis (Profound Lore) 0:52:36 - Interlude - Averse Sefira - “Helix in Audience” fr. Tetragrammatical Astygmata (Evil Horde Records, 2005) 1:00:51 - Khanate - To Be Cruel (Sacred Bones Records) 1:55:57 - Interlude - Black Sheep Wall - “Tetsuo: The Dead Man” fr. I’m Going to Kill Myself (Season of Mist, 2015) 2:05:40 - Abraded - Unadulterated Perversity (Aggressively Uninterested - US, Selfmadegod - Europe) 2:37:28 - Outro - Macabre - “Hitchhiker” fr. Dahmer (Hammerheart Records, 2000) Terminus links: Terminus on Youtube Terminus on Patreon Terminus on Instagram Terminus on Facebook [email protected]

Summer yawns over the horizon, but Terminus is interested in something a little colder: today's episode features both DSBM and material descended from Peaceville doom to add some well-needed cynicism to your time by the pool. First up is the return of Austere some 14 years after their last full length. Titans of Australian DSBM, Austere return no less powerful for their time absent, with material just as grey, lonely, and withering as their classic works. Beyond simple depression, though, Austere explores fascinating textural territories with dense, novel chord voicings, a patient, nearly ambient manner of constructing songs, and moments of triumphant melody which burst through the music's dense, suffocating fog. Highly recommended for DSBM fans and even those suspect of the genre. The other half of this episode features the return of Hanging Garden to the show, who made a great impression on us with 2021's "Skeleton Lake." Their new (nearly) eponymous full length presents an aggressively streamlined, pop-forward sound which manages to fully integrate the band's serious extreme metal pedigree with hook-laden, approachable songwriting. This record functions as a fascinating update to 00's Hot Topic stalwarts like Lacuna Coil, with just enough bite to keep noisemongers like us listening. While this is far more accessible than our typical fare, it's no less potent in its songwriting and craftsmanship. 0:00:00 - Intro 0:05:39 - Austere - Corrosion of Hearts (Lupus Lounge) 0:53:50 - Interlude - Totalselfhatred - “Total Self-Hatred” fr. Totalselfhatred (Ordo Decimus Peccatum, 2008) 1:01:06 - Hanging Garden - The Garden (Agonia Records) 1:52:32 - Outro - Theatre of Tragedy - “And When He Falleth” fr. Velvet Darkness They Fear (Massacre Records, 1996) Terminus links: Terminus on Youtube Terminus on Patreon Terminus on Instagram Terminus on Facebook [email protected]

Not unlike a vampire repelled by the sign of the cross, TDMG is currently working through his long-buried trauma re: acoustic guitar, and so today's episode is a neofolk special by TBMG and the infamous Hyper Shaman. Neofolk is something we mention on the show quite frequently but only rarely review, so for the more introspective, pastoral, and wizened among us, here's your time to shine. Today's episode presents two very different sides of neofolk which will nonetheless be of interest to all those who enjoy extreme metal. First up is Poseidon, announcing the (and I cannot stress this enough) TRIUMPHANT RETURN of Argento and Azoth of the mighty Spite Extreme Wing. The result of this resurgence, however, is not more of their powerful solar metal, but a perhaps equally powerful but much more oneiric take on abstract neofolk/post-industrial. TBMG and Hyper Shaman make a solid case for Poseidon directly linking to SEW through melodic fragments and the gestures toward folk music that band made later in its career. All fans of SEW take note- they might have taken a different shape, but the boys are certainly back in town. The other side of the episode is dedicated to Crooked Mouth, a neofolk project without Poseidon's ties to extreme metal but no less potent for it. Working in the more traditional territory of bands like Death in June and Of the Wand and the Moon, Crooked Mouth centers around beautiful acoustic guitar arrangements, precise vocal timbre, and a host of folk instruments which add texture and breadth to the simple yet elegant music. Much neofolk tends to stray from its folk origins- this is anything but the case for Crooked Mouth, who present pagan traditions unvarnished and unadorned, with all the scorn for modernity intact. 0:00:00 - Intro/Poseidon – Poseidon (Brucia Records) 1:12:14 - Interlude - Coil - “Ostia (The Death of Pasolini),” fr. Horse Rotorvator (Force & Form, 1988) / Death in June - “Dædalus Rising,” fr. But, What Ends When The Symbols Shatter? (New European Recordings, 1992) 1:23:24 - Crooked Mouth – Between the Fool and the Magician (Ætheric Recordings - LP and BC / Heimat Music - CD) 2:15:57 - Outro - The Revolutionary Army of the Infant Jesus - “Beauty After The Fall,” fr. The Gift of Tears (1987) Terminus links: Terminus on Youtube Terminus on Patreon Terminus on Instagram Terminus on Facebook [email protected]

Terminus is back with an oldschool episode- 4 records of descent into complete madness on the part of your intrepid hosts. This time, the mix is an unusual one, from dissonant black to war metal to elaborate death metal and... sophisticated beatdown hardcore? All these things are different but they're all actually the same thing as you'll come to find out. First off, a mini-review courtesy of The Black Metal Guy featuring Chicago's AVOWD, a dissonant black metal project pulled from the 00s featuring a member of Malthusian Kommand and the ugliest chord voicings you've ever heard. Now for a double dose of EPs from the Indian subcontinent. First up is a new entry from the Kolkata Inner Order in the form of Kaal Nagini, who play heavily death metal inflected war metal which won't be unfamiliar to fans of other KIO bands. Featuring a truly gorked production job, blistering tempos, and a lashing of brutal death, this is sure to please the most deeply deranged among us. In the other corner, the return of Kaal Akuma, whose war-inflected style of death metal has taken a more defined shape in the form of more traditional, Immolation-inspired death metal. While perhaps less obsessively extreme than their last record, the added polish and brilliant riffcraft on display more than makes up for it. Wrapping things up is the return of Vamachara, California beatdown hardcore aficionados coming back with their sophomore full length. Inspired by bands like Xibalba, Knocked Loose, and a host of 00s beatdown, Vamachara feels like the most vicious streetfighting music of two decades ago updated with modern technical extremity. Crushing and rhythmically challenging breakdowns collide headlong into fully unadorned death metal riffs to make for something that bridges the (perhaps nonexistant) gap between the styles with remarkable power and style. 0:00:00 - Intro/AVOWD - AVOWD (Independent) 0:27:54 - Kaal Nagini - Reflected Lights of a Blind God (Iron Bonehead Productions) 0:54:10 - Interlude - Sect Pig - “Master Revealed” fr. Slave Destroyed (Nuclear War Now, 2013) 0:56:58 - Kaal Akuma - Turiya (Nuclear Winter Productions) 1:28:52 - Congress - “The Release,” fr. Angry with the Sun (Good Life Recordings, 1998) 1:32:28 - Vamachara - No Roses On My Grave (Closed Casket Activities) 2:20:16 - Outro - Deformity - “Bloodfields,” fr. Murder within Sin (Next Sentence Recordings, 1999) Terminus links: Terminus on Youtube Terminus on Patreon Terminus on Instagram Terminus on Facebook [email protected]

We're excited to announce the proud return of a Terminus tradition- a carefully crafted, thematic episode that TDMG ruins with a random grind record. Who would have thought? Before we dive into two contrasting takes on traditional French black metal, TDMG regales us with the tale of Thai grinders Smallpox Aroma's debut full-length, a sub-20 minute record of blistering, oldschool grindcore with a technical edge and instrumental performances worthy of involuntary psychiatric commitment. Over in Europe, though, things are different, starting with the return of the mighty Nécropole (sure, it was released in the last week of 2022, but who's counting?) The half decade since the band's debut record has tempered the style into something colder and more remote but no less ferocious and mystical. Nécropole finds a fine midpoint between the more technical work seen by Orthodox-influenced artists and the chivalric storming of the Antiq bands, making for a record kingly in its disposition but wolflike in its execution. On the other side is Heresie, a young band reaching toward the traditions of French black metal ruralism but with the added bite of early Graveland and some of the meanest edges of the second wave. Deliberately primitive songs thrive on the high contrast of bloodthirsty aggression and aching longing while bass guitar freely floats around the stark, rewilded soundscape. Heresie finds itself in a strange place, somewhere between Pagan Hellfire and primitive CDr black metal of the 00s, but presents itself with a clarity of vision very few can achieve. 0:00:00 - Intro/Smallpox Aroma - Festering Embryos of Logical Corruption (Inhuman Assault Productions) 0:14:30 - Nécropole - Yoga (Northern Heritage) 1:11:57 - Interlude - Lutomysl - “Без вогню провідної зорі (Without the Light of the Guiding Star)” fr. Ecce Homo (2018, Drakkar Productions) 1:18:03 - Heresie - Heresie (France Black Death Grind) 2:01:42 - Outro - Graveland - “The Dark Battlefield” fr. Thousand Swords (Lethal Records, 1995) Terminus links: Terminus on Youtube Terminus on Patreon Terminus on Instagram Terminus on Facebook [email protected]

After a brief lull following TBMG's (excellent) interview with Alan Averill, we return with our regularly scheduled programming of elaborate French black metal, absurdist pornogrind, and everything in between. The "in between," in this case, belongs to Demonslaught, forgotten 1.5 wave black metal band from the greater Los Angeles area who recently received a reissue of their second demo. If you want something that sounds like Bathory, Sabbath (JP,) and Possessed falling down an elevator shaft together, well, BUY IT. We start our main reviews with the third full length record by Karne, a French black metal band which seeks to unite the disparate niches of its national scene under a single musical concept. Karne pulls on French black metal threads from Deathspell Omega to Hell Militia, stitching highly contrasting ideas together with ecstatic yet subtle lead guitar work. We're big fans of French black metal on the show, and we're guessing you'll be as fascinated as we were by a band that can put Mutiilation and Aorlhac into the same room without ruining the carpet with blood. Side B belongs to Hymen Holocaust, longtime Dutch one-man pornogrind purveyor back with its 6th full length endeavor. TDMG takes the lead on this one, giving a brief musical history of pornogrind before diving into what makes Hymen Holocaust so distinct- namely, a fascinating grasp of contrasting rhythms and a melodic vocabulary that extends from Gut to Candlemass without ever seeming like a novelty act. Pornogrind is a hard sell in the best of times, but hopefully listening to a deep musical dive on the structural underpinnings will give you the confidence to go to your record store's counter and request "One Cock and Ball Torture CD, please." 0:00:00 - Intro/Demonslaught - Demonlord (Bunsen Burner Recordings, original from 2008) 0:19:34 - Karne - Condamnés (Epictural Productions) 1:06:53 - Interlude - Spite Extreme Wing - “Non Dvcor, Dvco” fr. Non Dvcor, Dvco (Behemoth Productions, 2004) Absolutely free on Bandcamp - https://spiteextremewing.bandcamp.com/album/non-dvcor-dvco 1:15:39 - Hymen Holocaust - The Death King (Rotten Roll Rex) 1:52:14 - Outro - Celtic Frost - “Procreation of The Wicked” fr. Morbid Tales (Noise Records, 1984) Terminus links: Terminus on Youtube Terminus on Patreon Terminus on Instagram Terminus on Facebook [email protected]

Been a while, hasn't it? After a long drought of interview content, The Black Metal Guy returns in full force, bringing you a conversation with the mighty Alan Averill of Primordial, Verminous Serpent (whose debut we reviewed on episode 121), and many more. Alan is well known for his musical accomplishments, but also his own (excellent) podcast,* and what follows is a fascinating conversation on both his own work and the development of extreme metal, from the late 80s to today. Alan and TBMG variously touch on the original nature of black metal, the history of the greater UK scene, and the legitimacy of board shorts in death metal- so, without question, this interview is one for the ages. (Note: TBMG had some audio issues on his end which I've worked to correct, but he'll still sound a bit different from how he typically does. Raw podcasts only, no trendies. -TDMG) 0:00:00 - Intro, work with Primordial, UK extreme metal 0:27:59 - Interlude - Verminous Serpent, “Transcendent Pyre” fr. The Malign Covenant (Amor Fati, 2023) 0:33:44 - UK extreme metal continued, black metal as a concept, Verminous Serpent, and beyond 1:04:17 - Outro - Incubus - “God Died on His Knees,” fr. the Incubus demo (1987) Alan Averill links: *Agitators Anonymous podcast, etc. Verminous Serpent on Bandcamp Terminus links: Terminus on Youtube Terminus on Patreon Terminus on Instagram Terminus on Facebook [email protected]

Finally breaking free from the shackles of an endlessly repeated conversation on black metal pornography, your hosts return with an episode of lower-tempo extreme metal from two very different parts of the scene. Featuring a returning fan submission and a record from a style we rarely cover, this episode is a deep cut for those who want to expand their listening habits into uncharted territory. Or maybe charted territory but not usually by us. First up is the return of Thaumaturgy, doom-ridden black/death solo project out of Kansas which presents its debut full length. Thaumaturgy's style exists in a realm influenced heavily by both caverncore and orthodox black metal. On this record, however, a decision is made to pursue death metal more fully by way of the Ledney school of Profanatica, Havohej, Prosanctus Inferi, etc., but delivered in a stately and austere manner. Angular riffs spill out over long sections of tremolo and blast wall, periodically collapsing into heaving doom. How does it stack up against the project's debut, reviewed in 2021? We discuss. Following is Iron Walrus with their fourth full length record of Crowbar-inspired sludge metal. Taking a path less travelled in the style, Iron Walrus concentrates on a combination of elaborate heavy metal riffing combined with brute hardcore force, making for a record with a wide range of emotional and sonic territory. This is the antidote for the stoner scourge in the genre; we don't cover sludge very often, and you may not listen to it typically, but trust us- this one is worth a look. 0:00:00 - Intro 0:04:20 - Thaumaturgy - Tenebrous Oblations (Adirondack Black Mass) 0:56:39 - Interlude - Havohej - “Weeping in Heaven” fr. Dethrone the Son of God (Candlelight Records, 1993) 0:58:50 - Iron Walrus - Tales Never Told (Apostasy Records) 1:48:58 - Outro - Merauder - “Take by Force” fr. Master Killer (Century Media, 1995) Terminus links: Terminus on Youtube Terminus on Patreon Terminus on Instagram Terminus on Facebook [email protected]

A Terminus first occurs on this episode when, in the intro segment, your intrepid hosts manage to recreate nearly word for word the intro to the last episode out of sheer forgetfulness. We left it in just for you. After the podcasting equivalent of leaving a toddler in a hot car, our episode: First up is Verminous Serpent, a brand new Irish black/doom band staffed by a host of prominent musicians in the Irish scene, foremost among them Alan Averill of Primordial. Whatever comes to mind in terms of musical style, push that aside- we're heading into uncharted waters. Verminous Serpent plays slow, somehow simultaneously languid and vicious black/doom which pulls on unique musical threads owing to its congealing, seemingly improvisational song structures. While the aesthetics and tones might be at home in Bergen circa '94, the nuts and bolts of this music have more to do with advanced rock guitar technique and a darkly foggy yet still biting atmosphere. Recommended for those currently dying of black lung. On a completely different note: the return of the infamous Torsofuck, Finnish slamming goregrind pioneers returning from a nearly two decade absence to present their sophomore full-length. While stylistically familiar to fans of the first record, all inherent aspects have been stretched to their breaking point, with white-hot animal ferocity and cold, mechanical precision merging into a Tetsuo-like construction of misery and human suffering. Is Torsofuck high art? We discuss. (Yes.) For fans of Fluids (the band) and fluids (the matter... however they might be extracted.) 0:00:00 - Intro 0:05:41 - Verminous Serpent - The Malign Covenant (Amor Fati Productions) 0:54:41 - Interlude - Slidhr - “Their Blood” fr. Deluge (Debemur Morti, 2013) https://slidhr.bandcamp.com/album/deluge 0:59:27 - Torsofuck - Postpartum Extasy (Morbid Generation Records) 1:50:32 - Outro - Catasexual Urge Motivation - “Bleeding for Spermqueen” fr. Satsujin Live (Deliria Productions, 1996) Terminus links: Terminus on Youtube Terminus on Patreon Terminus on Instagram Terminus on Facebook [email protected]

Mom and dad are fighting again. It's been a tough time on the Terminus homestead with regards to scheduling, TDMG waylaid from recording earlier by the insidious trickery of budget airlines. Perhaps a cooling-off period was needed, though, before recording what is perhaps the most contentious episode in Terminus history. Blood must be shed. There is no other path forward. The cause of such discord within the family? The long-awaited return of Cromlech, epic doom purveyors with close ties to the podcast. "Ascent of Kings," a record a decade in the making, is without question one of the single most ambitious albums we've ever covered on the show. Epic in scope, scale, and concept, Cromlech pulls on threads of epic doom, traditional heavy metal, and those genres' progressive rock ancestors to make a record as unwieldy as it is grandiose. The question is simple: does Cromlech stick the landing, or is the sheer weight of compositional intricacy too much to bear? The battle lines are drawn and the positions the hosts take may surprise you, but one thing is clear once the dust has settled: "Ascent of Kings" will undoubtedly be a cult smash hit for a certain audience, and it is a record which necessitates tremendous discussion, whatever your position might be. Following this is another album with tremendous ambitions, albeit in a radically different direction: the debut full-length by Haxprocess, Jacksonville progressive death metal band and friends of The Death Metal Guy. Haxprocess sets its sights on recreating the style of late 90s progressive death metal, closely hewing to the structural rigor of deathrash while also heavily invested in the psych and prog rock of yesteryear. Through careful recreation of that era's stylistic features but with a genuine charge of youthful spirit and creativity, this is a record which could easily have emerged from '98, but with an energy and soul all its own. 0:00:00 - Intro 0:07:12 - Cromlech - Ascent of Kings (Hessian Firm) 1:51:24 - Virgin Steele - “Through the Ring of Fire” fr. The House of Atreus - Act I (T&T Records, 1999) 1:56:49 - Haxprocess - The Caverns of Duat (Independent / CD on Witches Brew) 2:49:39 - Outro - Burning Inside - “Apparition” fr. Apparition (Crash Music, 2001) Terminus links: Terminus on Youtube Terminus on Patreon Terminus on Instagram Terminus on Facebook [email protected]

After being battered for a fortnight by winds of frost and plague, Terminus once again valiantly gallops into battle against the forces of stoner doom and prog metal with another enthralling installment of the only metal podcast that has ever existed. Weathered and beaten but unbowed, your intrepid hosts present a melange of records from all over the map, starting most curiously with Lovebites, the current spearhead of the Japanese power metal scene. For all those who miss the classic days of oldschool Sonata Arctica, Rhapsody, and other legends of traditional Euro-style power metal, take note: they might be a meme for weebs, but they're an excellent band for the serious metalhead. Our first full review goes to the sophomore full length by Schavot, the solo project of Floris Velthuis, one of the pillars of the Dutch black metal scene. The new record shows the project sharpening its focus dramatically into a fusion of Dutch and traditional second wave styles, with an emphasis on high contrast songwriting, unique chord voicings, and rigorous, austere forms. This album shoots straight down the middle between both hosts' tastes in black metal, which we wager means that it will be as remarkable to the listener as it was to us. Further down the rabbit hole is the new record by Kanashimi, a grumbling and miserable DSBM/doom project from Japan which gathers melodic motifs from both pop and classical culture. Slow, trundling songs spin together gossamer threads of delicate piano melody into arduous paeans of modern isolation and misery. Both traditional in its minimalism and modern in its execution, this record is essential for any of those who want to experience some full-body gloom in the waning days of winter. 0:00:00 - Intro/Lovebites - Judgement Day (Victor) 0:27:31 - Schavot - Kronieken uit de nevel (Void Wanderer Productions) 1:24:07 - Interlude - The Funeral Pyre - “Thieves,” fr. Wounds (Prosthetic Records, 2008) https://thefuneralpyre.bandcamp.com/album/wounds 1:30:11 - Kanashimi - 闇歌 [Yamiuta] (Talheim Records) 2:18:24 - Outro - Susumu Hirasawa - “Gatsu” (Berserk, 1997) https://youtu.be/pPPlW_sLoXM Terminus links: Terminus on Youtube Terminus on Patreon Terminus on Instagram Terminus on Facebook [email protected]

As February progresses and winter's grip begins to falter, Terminus takes advantage of this space between seasons to present a real grab bag of an episode. Today's theme? Confidence and boldness, as exhibited by bands from all over the world and in all styles of extreme metal- there's something for everyone here. First: Cuban(!) slam death band Orphan Autopsy, whose refined presentation and brilliant sense of pacing elevates conventional ideas into a slickly listenable but intensely brutal package. Next is a double feature of recent Sielunvihollinen releases which explore different aspects of the band's core sound. First is a split with fellow Finns Sudentaival. On these tracks Sielunvihollinen emphasizes the intense street punk influence in their black metal, where Sudentaival combines the rowdy schlager quality of Absurd with truly gorked garage punk. On the other side: Sielunvihollinen's newest EP, which shows off a more melodic side to the band, heavy on influences from melodeath and power metal but no less ferocious for their presence. To wrap things up, something completely different: the hideous return of the mighty and terrible Rigor Sardonicous, cult Long Island extreme doom purveyors whose sound is at once singular and primordially familiar. Trundling, oppressive chords derived from equal parts Winter and Black Sabbath batter the listener with sluggish regularity while monstrous pitch-shifted vocals roar and a drum machine thumps, clicks, and whirrs in the background. This repulsively majestic release stirs in your hosts an intense discussion and one of our best reviews. Save your fork- there's pie! 0:00:00 - Intro 0:04:30 - Orphan Autopsy - Blistering Deprive From Sanity (Rotten Music) 0:20:42 - Sielunvihollinen/Sudentaival - Split (D88 Records) 0:42:02 - Interlude - Hasil Adkins - “Chicken Walk,” fr. Out to Hunch (Norton Records, 1986) 0:43:56 - Sielunvihollinen - Sielunmurskaaja (Independent) 1:15:44 - Interlude - Peste Noire - “Retour de Flamme (Hooligan Black Metal),” fr. La Sanie des Siècles - Panégyrique de la Dégénérescence (De Profundis Éditions, 2006) 1:20:02 - Rigor Sardonicous - Praeparet Bellum (Memento Mori) 2:13:37 - Outro - Thralldom - “Quantum Frost,” fr. A Shaman Steering The Vessel of Vastness (Profound Lore / Parasitic Records, 2006) Terminus links: Terminus on Youtube Terminus on Patreon Terminus on Instagram Terminus on Facebook [email protected]

Sunday, February 12th, 2023 marks one of the most important rituals in American culture: the release of a new Terminus episode. We're back with some records the more death metal-inclined Terminators will undoubtedly appreciate, plus an appetizer provided by Russia's Utanförskap, a post-black metal project which arrives at a unique sound through a genuine appreciation and understanding of its post-punk and shoegaze source material. Many of you are undoubtedly soured on the post-black style (for good reason,) but trust us: this is the exception to the rule. First at plate is Deiquisitor, a bashing Danish death metal outfit initially brought to the table by The Black Metal Guy, of all people. Deiquisitor's sound is difficult to pin down, operating in a hazy grey area of oldschool death metal songwriting combined with the cold and nihilistic atonality of the most avant-garde brutal death. "Apotheosis" reaches both forwards and backwards in time, with the primordial matter of Tampa and New York styles of death metal filtered through a prism of terrible, futural certainty. Following this is the debut record from Apokatastasis, courtesy of our friends at Hessian Firm. This one-man project from Arizona sets itself a challenge right out of the gate: to successfully combine brutal death metal and melodic black metal into a cohesive entity. The result: something akin to a particularly ferocious take on Swedish blackdeath (Dawn, Sacramentum, etc.) infused with the convoluted, ever-spiralling technicality of Crimson Massacre. This one is a challenging listen, certainly, but one that rewards today and promises more in the future. 0:00:00 - Intro/Utanförskap - Förlåtelse (Independent) 0:24:37 - Deiquisitor - Apotheosis (Extremely Rotten Productions) 1:09:31 - Interlude - Nailed - “Rupture Savior” fr. Hatred, Failure & the Extinction of Mankind (Anticulture Records, 2008) 1:13:15 - Apokatastasis - The Consecratory Secretion (Hessian Firm) 1:54:49 - Outro - Vehemence - “By Your Bedside” fr. Helping the World to See (Metal Blade Records, 2004)

Now that the dust has settled from our 2022 recap, it's time for the boys to dive headfirst into the new year with a smattering of genre- and quality-varied records. This week's episode features a major black metal release and a funeral doom record from a friend of the show, but first up- an appetizer. Noisy Neighors' debut full-length truly blasts from stereo speakers with a ripping half hour of traditional yet tightly coiled grindcore- an easy recommendation for all lovers of d-beats and death growls. Six years after the release of the divisive "Stella Polaris," Goatmoon has returned with "What Once Was... Shall Be Again," a release that suggests a return to Goatmoon's core sound of stomping, punk- and folk-infused Finnblack. The band doesn't disappoint in its return to the traditional Goatmoon form, but how does this shake out after such a long departure from the style? TBMG and TDMG tease out the subtle structural differences between this and Goatmoon's classic works, attempting to answer a crucial question: what, exactly, will be Goatmoon's legacy? Should the jangly stomp of Goatmoon raise your spirits too much, The Howling Void is here to crush them once again. The funeral doom project of Ryan from Pneuma Hagion, Intestinal Disgorge, and many others, THV's newest record points to a minimal yet multifaceted take on the traditional style. Early Skepticism is brushed with the symphonic backing and scope of Summoning, and further by a haunting veil of mournful folk melody. It may be a new year, but it's still winter, and The Howling Void reminds the listener that it always comes back again. 0:00:00 - Intro 0:05:56 - Noisy Neighbors - Derailing the Hype Train (Grand Vomit Productions) 0:22:22 - Goatmoon - What Once Was… Shall Be Again (Werewolf Records) 1:23:19 - Interlude - The Offspring - “Elders” fr. The Offspring (Nemesis Records, 1989) 1:25:30 - The Howling Void - Into Darkness Ever More Profound (Funere) 2:23:18 - Outro - Catacombs - “At the Edge of the Abyss” fr. In the Depths of R’lyeh (Moribund Records, 2006)

The Black Metal Guy slithers out from his dreadful crypt. The Death Metal Guy emerges from his abattoir-cum-brothel. A chill upon the hissing wind raises hackles and lowers spirits. A sluggish and corpulent full moon hangs listlessly just over the horizon. A whisper whips through the trees, barely audible: "please bro I just need an aux cable to run my drum machine through the PA I swear I'll give it back as soon as I'm done with my set." Welcome back to Terminus! At least partially rejuvenated from our break we return with SEASON 4 of the hottest extreme metal podcast on the market! This time we're opening the year a little differently: an embarrassment of riches came out toward the end of 2022, making it literally impossible to cover everything of note before the year is out. As a result, we've assembled a fast-moving episode of shorter reviews to attempt to cover as much territory as possible before proceeding with 2023 releases. Today's features include: Chasm Shroud attempting to square the circle of high art and fast motorcycles. Manticore continuing a proud legacy of middle-American* proto-war metal. Tribal Gaze creating a tricky new sound from the bones of death metal and hardcore. Stabbing reining in brutal death metal's most abstract impulses to create something more musical. Shape of Despair providing the definitive soundtrack to visits to a mist-filled cemetery. Komootra dedicating themselves to torture, nihilism, death, nothing, The End, etc. Welcome back, terminators! It's time to put 2023 to death- by guillotine! 0:00:00 - Intro 0:06:11 - Chasm Shroud - Manna from Heaven (Forbidden Sonority) 0:29:04 - Manticore - Endless Scourge of Torment (HHR) 0:49:29 - Tribal Gaze - The Nine Choirs (Maggot Stomp) 1:11:39 - Interlude - Xibalba - “Never Kneel,” fr. Madre Mia Gracias Por Los Dias (Independent, 2010) 1:16:10 - Stabbing - Extirpated Mortal Process (Comatose Music) 1:33:33 - Shape of Despair - Return to The Void (Season of Mist) 1:54:58 - ๛ (Komootra) - ๛ (Non-Self Supremacy) 2:15:44 - Outro - Tetragrammacide - “Pulsating Sudarshan Gammadion of Aiwasstronic Fishnu,” fr. Third World Esoterrorism (Iron Bonehead, 2019) *TBMG starts the year off right - with a thunderous, clunking error. Judas Iscariot is from DeKalb, Illinois, which is NOT in Ohio. The broader point, re. Midwestern black metal, still stands. Terminus links: Terminus on Youtube Terminus on Patreon Terminus on Instagram Terminus on Facebook [email protected]

By this point into Terminus Winter Break, you've no doubt exhausted our considerable back catalog, and have been reduced to listening to actual music instead of our reviews. But fear not! Every time we go on break, we release one of our elite, patrons-only bonus episodes to all you rank and file terminators. So here's the first single-record episode we've ever done. We think it's some of our best work, and we hope you enjoy it. Most truly great albums leave a legacy, begetting new genres, subgenres, styles, or scenes, and so becoming points of origin for new traditions. But once in a very long while, there is a complete one-off. Lykathea Aflame’s only release to date, Elvenefris, is one of those albums: How do you build on a masterpiece of lush, ecstatic, melodic…. goregrind? Maybe you don't. Where the hell did this record come from? And why is it so damn good? The answers may surprise you. 00:00 - Intro 8:40 - TBMG reacts / major key metal 19:10 - Vs. the "happy death metal" cliche / religion, goodness, virtue 37:50 - "Bringer of Elvenefris Flame" - influences and lack thereof 54:51 - "Land Where Sympathy is Air" - the Elvenefris theme 1:03:20 - “On The Way Home" - insane song structure* / non-metal influences 1:32:45 - “Flowering Entities" - don't worry, this is still death metal / finding "the way home" 1:43:50 - “A Step Closer" - lurking black metal influence / newness from tradition 01:53:20 - “Walking in The Garden of Ma’at” - happiness, vulnerability, permanence 2:12:37 - Outro - Lightning Bolt - “2 Morro Morro Land,” fr. Hypermagic Mountain (2005) *Chart for "On The Way Home": Main riff: A B C B C’ D C’ E’ E F GB’ B Drone: A A A A A A Note: X' = "X prime," marks a variation on that riff. Terminus links: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/terminusextrememetalpodcast Podbean: https://thetrueterminus.podbean.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/terminusextrememetal/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/terminuspodcast Contact: [email protected]

The third season of Terminus is drawing to a close, but of course, there's one last matter to attend to: a testimony to the unquestionable best metal records of 2022. As is tradition, our final episode of the year is a sprawling beast where your intrepid hosts discuss all the peaks and valleys of the year in review. This year's list has plenty of surprises in store, with lots of dark horse records creeping their way to the top and others losing steam upon further review. As always, we'll be taking a break of a couple weeks at the beginning of the new year to rest and recuperate before the assault continues in 2023. Happy new year to all terminators, and thank you for your continued support. Here's to all the great music of this year and more in the future. 0:00:00 - Intro 0:31:20 - #20-16 1:09:14 - #15-11 1:41:38 - #10-6 2:20:26 - #5-1 3:10:19 - Aparthiva Raktadhara - "Gnostic Arousal of Shava Lingam" fr. Adyapeeth Maranasamhita (আদ্যাপীঠ মরণসংহিতা) (Iron Bonehead Productions, 2022) Terminus links: Terminus on Youtube Terminus on Patreon Terminus on Instagram Terminus on Facebook [email protected]

Merry Christmas and Happy Yule to all terminators (and lumps of coal to those who deny our power)! This is our last main episode of 2022 before we embark on the path to our end of year extravaganza and it's a doozy. We're finishing the year with two black metal records which need zero introduction- one arriving at the end of this week, the other released by surprise. Both these records are the latest installments of long-running, lauded black metal legends, so how does this most recent material stack up to the legacy? First off is Satanic Warmaster's first full-length in 8 years, a record so highly anticipated the heat coming off it will make you spill your cocoa. What comes after such a long wait? An almost absurdly tight, refined, and polished take on SW's inimitable style. It's not without its own identity, though: Aamongandr explores deeply the relationship between the Finnblack style (which SW itself helped pioneer) and more traditional second wave black metal. Each song on this record captures a unique essence, exploring different facets of the band's long-running career to make for unquestionably one of the most well-rounded (and best) black metal records of the year. Much like in 2020, Hate Forest has released their newest full length with little fanfare. Innermost displays Hate Forest at their loudest, most immediate, and (arguably) most aggressive, paring back the band's minimal style into the barest etchings of melody and form. Cold and austere but with flickers of fragile life, this record provokes a spirited debate between our hosts, with each taking a surprising position. How minimal is too minimal? How does one define and consider aggression? And why are those trees so angry, anyway? 0:00:00 - Intro 0:06:48 - Satanic Warmaster - Aamongandr (out DECEMBER 30 on Werewolf Records) 1:06:59 - Interlude - Osculum Infame - Vampiric Warmaster (Part II), fr. Dor-nu-Fauglith (Mordgrimm, 1997) 1:14:47 - Hate Forest - Innermost (Osmose Productions) 2:16:19 - Outro - Windswept - “Bookworm, Loser, Pauper,” fr. The Onlooker (Season of Mist, 2019) Terminus links: Terminus on Youtube Terminus on Patreon Terminus on Instagram Terminus on Facebook [email protected]

Another episode so soon? Well, our cold, black hearts felt the distant and chilly fingers of shame over how long the last one took to come out, so we've ramped up production in the Autism Factory just for you! Today's episode is another that focuses on deep cut black metal, but perhaps a little less putrid and decrepit this time around. It's still gnarly, though, as demonstrated by our opening segment on a split between German hordes Burkhartsvinter and Wolfsblut who each present their own take on scrappy, longform black metal. Next is the debut full-length by Rot, quite possibly Vietnam's first black metal band, languishing in obscurity for nearly two decades. So much time slow-roasting in the oven has developed an impressive flavor of resolutely oldschool black metal basted with touches of death and thrash, reminding the listener distinctly of earliest work in the Norwegian and Swedish scenes pre-second wave. Immediate and heavy but also well-paced and surprisingly broad in its musical techniques, this is a record for dedicated black metal aficionados to really sink their teeth into. Following is the return of Imha Tarikat to the show, whose third full-length seems to represent the band truly arriving at their definitive sound. Exploring a territory somewhere between Mgla haze and Bølzer explosivity, this scans less as black metal and more as something entirely new- heavy, aggressive guitar music where the riff is replaced almost entirely with longform melodies. Not gonna lie, folks- we really reach into High Art Critique territory on this one. The Death Metal Guy unironically employs the phrase "interrogates the relationship." Brace yourselves- these are murky and uncharted waters. House of Ygra on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@houseofygra7198 0:00:00 - Intro/Burkhartsvinter/Wolfsblut - Return of the Black Hordes (Sturmglanz Black Metal Manufaktur) 0:25:43 - Rot - As Darkness Burns (House of Ygra) 1:08:06 - Interlude - Dark Angel - “Black Prophecies,” fr. Darkness Descends (Combat Records, 1986) 1:16:34 - Imha Tarikat - Hearts Unchained - At War With a Passionless World (Prophecy Productions/Lupus Lounge) 2:15:58 - Outro - Raven Woods - “In Loneliness I Wither” fr. In Silent Agony… (Zoo Sound, 2001) Terminus links: Terminus on Youtube Terminus on Patreon Terminus on Instagram Terminus on Facebook [email protected]

With the holiday season comes Terminus descending into scheduling hell, as is tradition. We like to think of it as a fun mystery, like opening presents on Christmas morning: when will the new episode arrive? Will a random bonus episode get released with zero notice? How blackout drunk will one or both hosts be? To answer in order: right now, maybe at some point, and neither, unfortunately. But to that last query, maybe we should have been, considering just how demented and gorked the majority of the music on today's episode is. To wit: Onslaught Kommand, a Chilean war metal band rooted in primordial death, grind, and d-beat traditions whose thirst for gore is matched only by their hunger for rumbling bass. Next: the return of Geheimnisvoll, first featured on Terminus in 2020, on a split with Russian newcomers КaБah (pronounced Kaban for our Occidental listeners.) Geheimnisvoll further iterates on its Franco-Finnish-rooted sound, now pushing more toward the former than the latter, with epic melodies tempered by an austere, scowling mood. КaБah takes a very different route: glum, hermetic, minimal, and seemingly equally influenced by both Ildjarn and primitive industrial. Either side should be sufficient to upset roommates, housepets, and any vegetation within a hundred yard radius alike. Following is the arrival of the second full length from a band mentioned only by TBMG in hushed whispers: Wrok. Infamous legends of the Dutch underground, Wrok play the most putrid and primordial of raw black metal exclusively, jerking and lurching through track after track of basement noise hell, reflecting an era and style of black metal now seemingly forgotten except by the most wretched among us. The song structures are nearly incoherent, the melodies are an afterthought, and the production is merely the word LOUD repeated a dozen times, and it's one of the coolest things to happen all year. 0:00:00 - Intro/Onslaught Kommand - Onslaught Kommand (Godz ov War Productions) 0:23:12 - Geheimnisvoll/КaБah - Split (Nithstang Productions) 1:05:47 - Interlude - Warwulf - “Follow The Wolves to My Grave,” fr. Walking The Paths of Despair (split w/ Sad on Thor’s Hammer Productions / 2009) 1:12:26 - Wrok - De dood roept (Heidens Hart) 2:03:54 - Outro - The Hunches - “Compression” and “This Human Propeller,” fr. Hobo Sunrise (In The Red Recordings / 2004) Terminus links: Terminus on Youtube Terminus on Patreon Terminus on Instagram Terminus on Facebook [email protected]

If you're wondering why today's installment of Terminus took a while to get to you, it's simple: episode 111 is all about doom, so it moved a little slower. Amidst all the high energy death and black metal we've been covering this year, we've been waiting for the opportunity to cover records a bit more... lethargic. Call us Type O Negative, because today we're going slow, deep, and hard. First up: a mini review of the debut record by Chilean epic doomdeath purveyors Mournument, which fuses romantic funeral doom with Peaceville riffing and all the wistful sorrow you could ask for. Next up: the 13th full length record by Candlemass. Typically while writing these descriptions we try not to spoil our overall assessment of an album, but in this case, it's unavoidable: it's a rough one, folks. Somewhere in a murky realm between stoner rock, bad Manowar, and a hint of actual doom lie the remains of Candlemass, who present a record composed nearly exclusively of terrible songwriting decisions and musical theater cheese. Those negative nancies who appreciate us at our most critical will undoubtedly enjoy this episode nearly as much as we despised the record in question. Following is a record that makes its listeners miserable for the RIGHT reasons: the newest split between Grave Upheaval and Terminus alums The Funeral Orchestra. This came out back in August but it was worth the wait: this is a split that's more than the sum of its parts, feeling like a truly collaborative effort between the artists. Grave Upheaval slows way down and explores the dismal fringes of caverncore to great effect; TFO strips back their buzzing lurch to something more minimal, grumbling, and unsettling. The result: a record so empty, dismal, and harrowing it would make Mutiilation blush. 0:00:00 - Intro 0:06:08 - Mournument - Smouldering Into Dust (Ardua Music) 0:26:05 - Candlemass - Sweet Evil Sun (Napalm Records) 1:14:00 - Interlude - Reverend Bizarre - “The Devil Rides Out” fr. II: Crush the Insects (Spikefarm Records, 2005) 1:20:12 - Grave Upheaval/The Funeral Orchestra - Inexistentia (Parasitic Records) 2:06:53 - Outro - Lycia - “Ionia,” fr. Ionia (Projekt, 1991) Terminus links: Terminus on Youtube Terminus on Patreon Terminus on Instagram Terminus on Facebook [email protected]

Terminus has been, to some degree, derelict in its duty to promote Outlaw Rock this year. Hopefully today's episode ameliorates this deficiency with a grip of records all firmly within this rough and tumble style of black metal(?). For those unfamiliar with the term, Outlaw Rock is a concept formulated by Terminus for a distinct style of USBM with a range of pointedly American influences, from country to hardcore and all points between. In this case, we have two very different sides of the same coin: one creaking out ghostly whispers of the old west, and another which explodes in passionate psychedelic violence. A double-feature of Grave Pilgrim opens things up, with reviews of both last year's self-titled full length and this year's EP to provide better context. A mixture of KPN, Taake, and deep Americana makes for records which immediately hook the ear but feature surprising structural depth. The band's first record flamethrows the cave of Instagram black metal with deep, intricate riffing and the second iterates on these melodic concepts through flirtations with trad metal and desolate ambient. The only question: where do they go from here? Providing counterpoint is the debut Ink & Fire record, likely familiar to terminators as a new project from MK of Fin. MK's unique riffing style is firmly intact but simultaneously stripped down and overdriven into brief, fulminating tracks. Ink & Fire's vicious yet manically joyful attack is immediately ear-pleasing but clattering and overwhelming, merging the smearing drone of Blazebirth Hall with MK's agile leadwork. Music to be enjoyed under the influence of any drug that makes you fast. 0:00:00 - Intro 0:03:05 - Grave Pilgrim - Grave Pilgrim (Death Prayer Records, 2021) 0:54:17 - Grave Pilgrim - Molten Hands Reach West (Death Prayer Records) 1:20:01 - Interlude - Peste Noire - “Ballade cuntre les anemis de la France - de François Villon “ fr. Ballade cuntre lo Anemi francor (De Profundis Éditions, 2009) 1:26:31 - Ink & Fire - Execution of Spirit (Independent/Death Prayer Records) 2:13:35 - Outro - Fields of the Nephilim - “Power” fr. Dawnrazor (Situation 2/Beggars Banquet, 1987) Terminus links: Terminus on Youtube Terminus on Patreon Terminus on Instagram Terminus on Facebook [email protected]

On rare occasion Terminus will dip its toe into the heady waters of "mainstream metal" (referring to bands that human beings listen to)- it's a rare and dangerous venture, but a necessary one. Today's episode is one such occasion, one where owners of Black Metal Tapes Worth More Than Your Life eye us suspiciously, thumbing the hammers of their revolvers under the poker table. Fret not- while today's records might be more popular than our typical fare, both are excellent slabs of death metal rooted in styles from the early 00s. First up is the return of Defleshed, Swedish stalwarts back after a 17 year absence but no loss of energy. Comparable to countrymen like The Crown or Witchery, Defleshed plays a unique style of grinding deathrash which simultaneously embraces a high-flying rock and roll energy as well as a vicious rhythmic intensity. Grind Over Matter is a comfortable blanket of a record for those who came up in metal back in the 00s, but even if you're a newcomer, Motörhead with excessive blasting can never go wrong. Following this is the newest by Psycroptic, long-running Tasmanian tech death band whose style has always stood on its own amongst legions of sweep-picking drudgery. Divine Council is yet another entry in a nearly immaculate discography, presenting itself with the band's remarkable melodic clarity and mystical atmosphere totally intact. The almost surgically clean production and playing might be a tough sell to those who like their metal more rough and tumble, but concentration on the intricate structural dynamics reaps tremendous rewards. 0:00:00 - Intro 0:05:08 - Defleshed - Grind Over Matter (Metal Blade) 0:48:49 - Interlude - Vargavinter - “Frostfödd,” fr. Frostfödd (Invasion Records, 1996) 0:53:40 - Psycroptic - Divine Council (EVP Recordings/Prosthetic Records) 1:44:12 - Outro - Arsis - “Lust Before the Maggots Conquest” fr. United in Regret (Willowtip Records, 2006) Terminus links: Terminus on Youtube Terminus on Patreon Terminus on Instagram Terminus on Facebook [email protected]

Gentlemen... behold! A new lean and mean episode of Terminus has arrived now that The Black Metal Guy has returned from Parts Unknown, fattened on the riches of distant lands. What better way to celebrate than with two down-the-line black metal records? We can have a little shrieking, just as a treat. First up is Ateiggär from the Helvetic Underground Committee, a group of Swiss artists we've been following on the show for some time now. Ateiggär reaches back to late 90s and early 00s Scandinavian black metal like Kvist and Old Man's Child for its riffing style but adds in the tasteful theatrics of synth, sample, and clean vocal for spice. The aggregate effect is something like Rotting Christ by way of the frozen north, delivering on a promise of epic and ancient tones well at home in that era's more obscure circles. Following is the return of Oppressive Descent whose 2020 record ended up on TBMG's album of the year list- does the new one stack up? Most certainly. What follows is well within the project's established wheelhouse but distilled and refined in exceptional fashion. This band's moment to moment riffcraft is nearly unmatched in high-flying (and skull-crushing) consistency, and the reduction of the number of influences at play has only sharpened its attack. Who would have guessed that from Portland would emerge the year's best French black metal record? 0:00:00 - Intro 0:04:49 - Ateiggär - Tyrannemord (Eisenwald) 0:46:12 - Interlude - 122 Stab Wounds - “Hunting Humans” fr. The Deity of Perversion (Head Not Found, 1996) 0:50:25 - Oppressive Descent - Spite is My Scepter, Blood is My Crown (Inferna Profundus Records) 1:40:01 - Outro - Chemin de Haine - “Le Royaume Maudit” fr. Hobo of Aramaic Tongues/Le Royaume Maudit (Painiac Records, 2003) Terminus links: Terminus on Youtube Terminus on Patreon Terminus on Instagram Terminus on Facebook [email protected]

Just in time for the spookiest of seasons comes a spine-chilling installment of Terminus with the team you fear most- The Death Metal Guy and Harried Terminus Intern Hyper Shaman. As is (usually) tradition for this combo, we've got a death metal centered episode for you, but fear not: only one of the records discussed has prominent slams! First off, though, is a look at the new Daemogog record, which follows in the style of bands like Astral Tomb in its gangly, abstract take on brutal death technique and dissonant melodic motifs. First to bat is the newest record by Imprecation, stalwarts of the Texas scene, who provide yet another blast of traditional, blasphemous death metal from the early 90s. While this music is immediate and straightforward from moment to moment, it's also deceptively complex owing to elaborate song structures and a striking rhythmic performance. Imprecation rejects the conceits of nowadays "OSDM" and strikes at the heart of what made the original records of that era great. FFO Morbid Angel, Profanatica, the literal devil, etc. Concluding the proceedings is the third (!) appearance of Anal Stabwound on the show with the project's second full length record. To the shock of absolutely no one who's been paying attention, the new record is a dizzying display of technical and compositional prowess. Expanding from the jazz-infused style of later Defeated Sanity, Anal Stabwound combines the brain-melting rhythmic concepts of The Sanguinary Impetus with an emphasis on readable and even catchy songwriting. I'm still mad at Nikhil though. 0:00:00 - Intro/Daemogog - Yawning Expanse Yearning (Bent Window Records) 0:23:51 - Imprecation - In Nomine Diaboli (Dark Descent) 1:02:15 - Interlude - Resurrection - “Smell of Blood” fr. Embalmed Existence (Nuclear Blast America, 1993) 1:06:09 - Anal Stabwound - Reality Drips Into the Mouth of Indifference (New Standard Elite) 1:50:43 - Outro - Charles Mingus - “Group Dancers (Soul Fusion) (Freewoman and Oh, This Freedom's Slave Cries)” fr. The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady (Impulse!, 1963) Terminus links: Terminus on Youtube Terminus on Patreon Terminus on Instagram Terminus on Facebook [email protected]

We return to your regularly scheduled programming after a brief diversion to record a bonus episode on Lykathea Aflame's seminal Elvenefris (which you should purchase your way into immediately.) This week we're going way down the line with three more-or-less black metal records occupying often-ignored sonic niches of interest to serious listeners. First up: the return of ColdWorld, a DSBM legend who has lost no vigor in the 6 years since the last full length, providing classic melodies with a renewed essence through impressive harmonic arrangement. To the meat of the episode: Blood Chalice provides a truly alarming amount of ÖUGH with their second LP which sticks to the tried-and-true conventions of putrid Finnish blackdeath in the vein of Archgoat, Beherit, and all other good company. What it may lack in novelty, though, it more than makes up for in execution, with compact, high energy songs that trace this style's lineage back to primordial extreme metal and grindcore, revealing track by track that this style is capable of far more variation than one might suspect. Following this is the mysterious ᛋᚢᚱᛏᚱ ᚹᛟᚢᚾᛞᛋ (Surtr Wounds,) a British one-man project exploring a strange and murky nexus between black, doom, death, and industrial. Somewhat like the Syndexioi record we covered several episodes ago, Surtr Wounds retvrns to pagan tradition by accessing originary extreme metal ideas and presenting them remarkably unadorned within the haze of a gauzy, unearthly production job. Discussion on this one is complex and unusual, resulting in the conclusion that, yes, Hate Forest and Crowbar do have something in common after all. 0:00:00 - Intro/ColdWorld - Isolation (Eisenwald) 0:32:39 - Blood Chalice - The Blasphemous Psalms of Cannibalism (Werewolf Records) Interlude - 1:13:06 - Nunslaughter - “Raid the Convent” fr. Goat (Revenge Productions, 2003) 1:15:25 - ᛋᚢᚱᛏᚱ ᚹᛟᚢᚾᛞᛋ (UK) - ᛋ​ᚢ​ᚱ​ᛏ​ᚱ ᚹ​ᛟ​ᚢ​ᚾ​ᛞ​ᛋ (Inverse Solar Reqvriem) 2:09:20 - Outro - Cobalt - “Witherer” fr. Eater of Birds (Profound Lore, 2007) Terminus links: Terminus on Youtube Terminus on Patreon Terminus on Instagram Terminus on Facebook [email protected]

Let's face it, people: 2022 has been a difficult mating season for black metal. They're not sending their best, folks- or at least they haven't been so far. That might all change with today's episode, which features two excellent records of autumnal, melodic, and strikingly structured black metal which reaches back to the trenchcoat era of the late 90s/early 00s for its primary influences. If you're the type of Terminator who listens for assistance in separating the wheat from the chaff: welcome home. First up is the newest record by Dutch stalwarts Asgrauw, who TBMG has mentioned numerous times on the show as a central figure to that nation's scene and as a personal favorite. For those unfamiliar, Asgrauw play an agile and melodic but traditionally aggressive form of black metal, pared down and structurally minimal, but harmonically and timbrally rich. This is a record that strikes a fine balance between accessibility and authenticity, between simplicity and dynamism, and is almost certainly one of the best black metal records of the year. Drawing from a similar pool of influences but with a radically different vision is Firtan, a German band who reach back to ambitious, prog-infused black metal records to create something vast in both scope and sound. Featuring striking technical playing and impressively dense and saturated instrumental arrangements, Firtan manage to capture the excitement of early prog-black without sacrificing the core of heavy metal songwriting we're all here for. Violins? Spoken word passages? Maybe there's a place for those things after all. 0:00:00 - Intro 0:02:14 - Asgrauw - Façade (Death Prayer Records) 0:53:42 - Interlude - Thyrfing - “Set Sail to Plunder,” fr. Thyrfing (Hammerheart Records, 1998 / digital by Despotz). 0:58:06 - Firtan - Marter (AOP Records) 1:45:05 - Outro - Nagelfar - “Srontgorrth (Das Dritte Kapitel),” fr. Hünengrab im Herbst (Kettenhund Records, 1997). Here’s digital for the 2017 Ván reissue, with sadly inferior cover art. If you wanna hear these guys do a straight-up ripper, check the preceding track, “Bildnis der Apocalpyse,” or pretty much anything from Virus West (2001). Terminus links: Terminus on Youtube Terminus on Patreon Terminus on Instagram Terminus on Facebook [email protected]

Again, a bit of a delay, but we've got something to make it up for you: a big, sprawling episode of highly anticipated records and autistic analysis guaranteed to please all Terminators or your money back (please don't call me on this I can't give refunds on Patreon.) This time we're looking at two scrappy, unusual records descended from a parallel universe war metal scene that somehow drifted into our own- one from an established classic act, and another from youthful upstarts on a mission to make their mark. From the veterans in Ares Kingdom comes a record that refuses to rest on the laurels of the past. "In Darkness at Last" presents the band's resolute and powerful style of black/death/thrash metal in a looser, more jamming fashion that excites TDMG but may polarize longtime fans of the band. There's no shortage of crushing riffs and vigorous rhythmic stomping, but the atmosphere of this record is that of a long-defeated empire slowly slipping into memory. What's the goal, here? And has Ares Kingdom really been a black metal band all along? We discuss. Coming off last year's "Serpentine Descension," California-based Axis of Advance worshippers Galicia return with "Precipice," a debut record as exciting as it is inscrutable. The structural brilliance of Olde Edmonton combines with the sheer ferocity and pacing of mid-era Cryptopsy to create dizzyingly intense yet tremendously melodic music where riffs and rhythms slip past as quickly as they're introduced. This isn't easy listening, but those willing to take the time will likely discover one of the best records of the year. 0:00:00 - Intro 0:06:46 - Ares Kingdom - In Darkness at Last (Nuclear War Now) 1:03:00 - Interlude - Order from Chaos - “Forsake Me This Mortal Coil,” fr. Stillbirth Machine (Wild Rags Records, 1992) 1:08:07 - Galicia - Precipice (Hessian Firm) 2:07:03 - Outro - Warrior’s Chalice - “Atomic Assault Troops” fr. Warrior’s Chalice (Independent, 2017) Terminus links: Terminus on Youtube Terminus on Patreon Terminus on Instagram Terminus on Facebook [email protected]

Okay I know last time I said we were back and were gonna be super consistent and everything, but here's the thing: I lied. I lied specifically to hurt you. The relationship between Terminus and its fans is inherently abusive, but don't worry: we're bringing you back some flowers and promising to never do it again with an episode featuring two radically different sides of the wasteland known as Detroit. First up is a band long mentioned but only now getting covered: Syphilic. A longtime favorite of TDMG, this one-man project has acquired a cult following over the years through its blistering technicality, challenging song structures, and aesthetics and themes so far beyond the pale they make the rest of brutal death blush. On the project's ninth full length record, the boundaries are pushed even further, making for easily one of the most challenging and exciting brutal death records of the year. Next is Perversion, long running stalwarts of the Detroit underground who employ a foundation of thrash metal to etch out complex death and black metal ideas with proper leather jacket and sunglasses flair. While built on a mostly established set of influences, Perversion pushes the boundaries of this style past its usual structural limits in order to create dynamic, ornate compositions out of primitive materials. 0:00:00 - Intro 00:05:46 - Syphilic - …And Justice For None (Independent/Brutal Mind) 0:51:43 - Interlude - Insidious Decrepancy - “Extirpating Omniscient Certitude” fr. Extirpating Omniscient Certitude (Brutal Bands, 2009) 0:55:19 - Perversion - Dies Irae (Hells Headbangers) 1:37:49 - Outro - Cannibal Corpse - “Rotting Head” fr. Eaten Back to Life (Metal Blade Records, 1990) Terminus links: Terminus on Youtube Terminus on Patreon Terminus on Instagram Terminus on Facebook [email protected]

No excuses this time. We're back. For real. See? We've got another episode? This one's cut in pretty distinct halves, with some remarkably extreme, timbral music on one side and some true to the 80s heavy metal on the other, but surprising threads of composition run through both. To start, though: it's been a little while, so The Death Metal Guy took it upon himself to ruin your day with some brutal death. This time it comes in the form of Solemnity's debut EP, which follows in the footsteps of bands like Pustulated and Foetopsy to create grinding, gore-soaked brutal death in the style of the early 00's to great effect. The first main review of the night is the long-anticipated return of Vermin Womb, with a concise record that sacrifices nothing in its brevity. This is music that could be described in a lot of ways: black/death, war metal, etc., but ultimately this is grindcore at its core augmented by a wide variety of influences from extreme metal. Balancing adroitly between noisy chaos and elegant riffcraft, this record blows its contemporaries out of the water by engaging in a challenging, nearly forgotten tradition: Writing Actual Songs. Closing out the second half is the second full-length by Polish heavy metallers Amargh, whose style owes itself as much to 1983 NWOBHM as much as... pagan black metal? TBMG unsurprisingly has a deep thesis on this record, which moves seamlessly between trad headbanging and esoteric, mystical extreme metal in a manner wholly unique to itself. How, exactly, do Jaguar and Graveland relate to one another? Listen to find out. 0:00:00 - Intro/Solemnity - Scourging at the Pillar (Comatose Music) 0:17:58 - Vermin Womb - Retaliation (Closed Casket Activities) 0:55:47 - Interlude - PLF - “Trinitrotoluene Negation” fr. Devious Persecution and Wholesale Slaughter (Six Weeks Records, 2013) 0:57:29 - Armagh - Serpent Storm (First Wave Only) 1:47:56 - Outro – Armagh - “Foggy Dew / Wehrwolf,” fr. the Venomous Frost EP (First Wave Only / 2016) Terminus links: Terminus on Youtube Terminus on Patreon Terminus on Instagram Terminus on Facebook [email protected]

It's been a laborious path, surely, but Terminus is back on track as TBMG and TDMG reunite after a long departure from one another. Creative differences? Lover's quarrel? Nothing so interesting as that. What's important is that we're back to the Terminus you know and love, autistically criticizing unknown records for the pleasure of equally autistic listeners. T-shirts in the back. First up is the return of Vergeblichkeit, whose last record we covered in the very first episode of 2021. The new release features the same general ingredients of gothic (black?) metal, but arranged differently, with a greater emphasis on dissonance, burly riffing, and structural complexity. This album lacks much of the immediate, catchy, gothic melodies of its predecessor, but it more than makes up for it in complexity, nervous energy, and sheer, metallic weight. On the back half we tackle the debut record by White Rune, a Finnish project which endeavors to restore the glory the now-rusted concept of symphonic black metal. Drawing from Finnish contemporaries as well as the more youthful efforts of bands like Cradle of Filth or Hecate Enthroned, the result is a record of catchy melodies and epic overtures that nonetheless allows the grit and weight of the Finnish style to penetrate every note. NO KEYBOARDS, NO FEMALE VOCALS- well, maybe we can start making an exception for one of those. 0:00:00 - Intro 0:06:59 - Vergeblichkeit - Unnahbar Dein (Independent) 0:49:56 - Interlude - Stahlhammer - “Messerschmied” fr. Feind hört mit (Nuclear Blast, 1999) 0:56:11 - White Rune - Dawn of the White Rune (Hammer of Hate Records) 1:52:28 - Outro - Cradle of Filth - “Beneath the Howling Stars” fr. Cruelty and the Beast (Music for Nations, 1998) Terminus links: Terminus on Youtube Terminus on Patreon Terminus on Instagram Terminus on Facebook [email protected]

It's that time of the season again! Terminus returns with another episode but, uh, a weird one again. This time it's TDMG that's our handling some personal business, which means we have an episode featuring TBMG and Terminus intern Hyper Shaman, this time focusing on wooly and wild strains of black metal from all over the (full) spectrum. Think of this as the perverse alternative to the first guest episode featuring TDMG and HS, but instead of slam and gorenoise it's even more cryptic, inscrutable black metal. So, in essence, business as usual. The show kicks off with the triumphant return of war elephant-riding Dressed in Streams with a new EP. The project's second record, Swaraj, was covered on the show in 2020 and ended up on TBMG's end of the year list. The new EP, while clearly part of the project's sonic lineage, presents a more biting, hot-blooded take on the style, leaning away from the subtle post-blackisms of the previous record and more fully into the brackish and insane. An obvious required listen for Terminators. Following this is a true oddity: the debut album by Dogman, a Bosnian project which presents itself as worship of equally obscure Brazilian project Sovereign. What we have here is a truly unusual combination of Franco-Finnish consonance and panicked, alcoholic blackthrash which straddles no lines but its own. Can Dogman bridge the gap between what seem to be wildly divergent musical concepts? Listen and decide for yourself. We conclude our evening with the debut record of Danish band Grigorien, a band which attempts to resurrect, in a sense, the totality of the second wave that does not discount advances made in more recent years. Furiously devilish and bitterly aggressive, this might have been denounced with terms like "Norsecore" in earlier years, but within the heat and extremity is a subtlety of arrangement that defies its contemporaries. 0:00:00 - Intro 0:11:16 - Dressed in Streams - लड़ाई का मैदान (“Battlefield”) (Colloquial Sound Recordings) 0:53:23 - Dogman - Alcoholic Fury & Madness (Total Death) (Independent) 1:38:50 - Grigorien - Magtens Evangelium (Signal Rex) 2:29:01 - Outro - Belëf - “Deathwind Legion” fr. Deathwind Legion (Criminal Records, 2000) Terminus links: Terminus on Youtube Terminus on Patreon Terminus on Instagram Terminus on Facebook [email protected]

What's this? Terminus rising from its gwave once again? Well, not exactly- TBMG's work commitments are going on a bit longer than anticipated so we're not coming back from break just yet. However, in the interest of maintaining positive SEO trends and social standing, TDMG and infamous Terminus intern Hyper Shaman have put together an episode to tide you all over. We'll be back to your regularly scheduled programming sooner rather than later, but for now- records. First is the long-awaited return of Singapore grindcore stars Wormrot after a 6 year gap from Voices, the record that brought them to the forefront of the genre. This year's record, Hiss, clearly and deliberately moves in more experimental directions, laced with lashings of screamo and ambient, but attempts to also hew closely to Wormrot's tried-and-true d-beat and blast attack. This has already proven to be a divisive record amongst fans of the band, so how does it stack up to prior work, and is the move toward headier material one that makes sense for the band? We discuss. Next up is a record already catching fire within the Terminus black circle- the debut of Grenadier, Arghoslent-worshiping melodic death metal from Newfoundland, Canada (of all locales.) Calling this mere Arghoslent worship is a bit reductive, though, as Grenadier proves themselves not only capable of replicating that band's distinct riffing style but also bringing their own idiosyncrasies to the plate. Certainly one for all the Terminators out there, and definitely on the short list for melodeath record of the year. Finally, we lower our eyes in respect and fear of the return of Pneuma Hagion, whose 2020 debut made that year's Terminus aggregate album of the year list. 2022's Demiurge is in a large sense more of the same- mid-era Morbid Angel perverted and downtuned to tectonic levels- but a close listen shows subtle shifts in the project's sound. The trudge and blast arrangement of the band's style maintains primacy, but an injection of perverse d-beat energy and hypnotic riffing makes this very worthy of further consideration. 0:00:00 - Intro 0:04:28 - Wormrot - Hiss (Earache Records) 0:36:25 - Grenadier - Trumpets Blaze in Burning Glory (Drakkar Records) 1:15:27 - Pneuma Hagion - Demiurge (Meat 5000 Records) 01:48:52 - Outro - Grave Upheaval - “Untitled 4” fr. Untitled (Nuclear War Now, 2013) Terminus links: Terminus on Youtube Terminus on Patreon Terminus on Instagram Terminus on Facebook [email protected]