Review by Sandre the Giant
The new record from Terminal Nation, hardcore/death metal/powerviolence bruisers on the iconic 20 Buck Spin, is called ‘Holocene Extinction’ and is laden with some of the most punishing tracks on the Western Atlantic. It is out on the 7th of August, and it may arrive just in time to soundtrack our end of days.
Opener ‘Cognitive Dissonance’ is a bulldozer, charging forward with potent intent, grinding riffs and a fearsome roar. Slow, churning riffs rumble ominously, before the savage ‘Arsenic Earth’ smashes your mind to pieces with its stop-start speed and devastating guitar tone. Terminal Nation aren’t interested in keeping things simple; their tempo changes leaves you ragged and breathless. The low end is monstrous, especially in the harsh stomp of the title track. You have the hyper aggression of hardcore crashing into the chugging rage of death metal, but it isn’t exactly what you’d have in mind if I described it as ‘deathcore’. Maybe this is what deathcore is supposed to be.
There’s some more rapid fire fury, like the blistering thirty seconds of ‘Thirst to Burn’ or the charging ‘Leather Envy’, but when Terminal Nation’s almost introspective instincts kick in like in the moody ‘Expired Utopia’, another level of quality is reached. A band seemingly dedicated to destructive music that is willing to dabble in nuance and dare I say melody is a band worth listening to. I mean, the main thrust of this record is still riffs that could crack buildings, but the odd appearances of something more is intriguing.
‘Holocene Extinction’ is a triumph. From the outrageous crush of ‘Disciple of Deceit’ to the closing imperial supremacy of ‘Age of Turmoil’, Terminal Nation are here to show you the reality of what deathcore should be. Violence, brutality and the kind of sociopolitical awareness that we all need right now, not stupid breakdown loaded, floppy fringed neon bullshit. Our world is fucked, and ‘Holocene Extinction’ is the distillation of the crumbling endtimes.
https://www.facebook.com/terminalnation/
https://listen.20buckspin.com/album/holocene-extinction
TERMINAL NATION – HOLOCENE EXTINCTION CD
The Killchain 
[…] Extinction’ came out in 2020, the Killchain were very impressed by it, seen in our review here. Their blend of death metal and hardcore was done properly, not just breakdowns, brees and lurid […]
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