Terminus Episode 143 - Flaming Ouroboros, White Death

Today's Terminus dispatch: an episode with a much more positive tone than our last. This installment features two Terminus veterans returning with multifaceted and excellent records, proudly continuing traditions of understated greatness. First up: the return of Inquisition, whose new record reaches backward into the band's catalog for a restored aggression but also peeks into the future with an array of unusual non-metal guitar influences. Second: Narbeleth, coming in hot off the tremendous success of their previous record, choose a more difficult path, where their unique style of Franco-Finnish black metal plays with the edges of strange rhythm and dissonance, making for music as tense and fearful as it is ecstatic and Dionysian. 0:00:00 - Intro 0:02:43 - Inquisition - Veneration of Medieval Mysticism and Cosmological Violence (Agonia Records) 0:59:18 - Interlude - Inquisition - “Baptized in Black Goat Blood,” fr. Magnificent Glorification of Lucifer (No Colours Records, 2004) 1:03:01 - Narbeleth - A Pale Crown (Folter Records) 1:51:00 - Outro - Narbeleth - “Moon of A Thousand Shapes,” fr. Svmma Cvm Nox Arcana (Folter Records, 2021) Terminus links: Terminus on Youtube Terminus on Patreon Terminus on Instagram Terminus on Facebook thetrueterminus@gmail.com

30 Jan 20241h 56min

You wanted the worst? You got the worst! It's time for the annual TERMINUS OMEGA episode where your intrepid hosts debate the best extreme metal records of the year. This time, we did our end of year episode as a livestream on Youtube, but we're republishing it here for our podcast platform listeners. You'll laugh, you'll cry, and by the end- maybe we'll all learn something. Enjoy, terminators, and see you in mid-January after our winter break. Terminus links: Terminus on Youtube Terminus on Patreon Terminus on Instagram Terminus on Facebook thetrueterminus@gmail.com

28 Dec 20234h 2min

It's almost Christmas time here at Terminus, so what better way to celebrate the (un)holy trinity than with a triple threat of records focused on grinding dissonance? First up is the return of TDMG favorite Demoncy who go back to basics on Black Star Gnosis with their evergreen style of primitive US black/death metal. Next is Yersin, back on the show for the first time since 2020 with a refinement of their unusual style of crustblackdeathhardcore, pulling as much from Nails as Slavic BM. Wrapping things up is Blood Serpent from the Vietnamese House of Ygra collective, who debut with a record of war metal which, while losing none of the inherent aggression, pursues deeper territories inspired by some of the oldest ideas in 80s metal. This is our last main episode of the year, but it's not quite over yet: next week, on December 27th, at 8 PM EST, is the livestream for our annual Terminus Omega, where we enumerate the definitive best records of the year. Join us on Youtube Live for the festivities- this has been a great year for music and we're looking forward to celebrating it with all of you who have listened throughout it. 0:00:00 - Intro 0:05:51 - Demoncy - Black Star Gnosis (Dark Descent Records) 0:52:45 - Interlude - Hell Rot - “Goat Chapel” fr. Vomit Altar (Independent, 2006) 0:55:33 - Yersin - The Scythe is Remorseless (Trepanation Recordings) 1:32:36 - Blood Serpent - Bestial Extermination (House of Ygra) 2:04:44 - Outro - Aura Noir - “Black Metal Jaw,” fr. The Merciless (Tyrant Syndicate Productions, 2004) Terminus links: Terminus on Youtube Terminus on Patreon Terminus on Instagram Terminus on Facebook thetrueterminus@gmail.com

21 Dec 20232h 7min

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 thetrueterminus@gmail.com

14 Dec 20232h 1min

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 thetrueterminus@gmail.com

3 Dec 20232h 55min

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 thetrueterminus@gmail.com

14 Nov 20231h 52min

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 thetrueterminus@gmail.com

6 Nov 20232h 11min