Terminus Episode 97 - Theriomorph, Koldkrypt, Avsky

Terminus proudly returns from the prior week's collection of difficult black metal records with a new batch of, uh, difficult black metal records. Don't click the X, these ones are different! We're on a tear covering heady, structurally convoluted records these days, but perhaps today's works bring us a little closer to the Terminus center. First off, a well-aged appetizer: the return of the (to us) legendary Avsky, whose brand of caustic, arrogant black metal has lost no power in the dozen years since their last release.

First to bat is Theriomorph, a Finnish project that resembles little else in that well-trod geographic style, eschewing big, consonant riffs in favor of angular Orthodox concepts and some truly weird percussion ideas. This one is designed from the top down, with each track leading neatly into the next, creating an affecting occult atmosphere laced with ferocious speed and ugly, haunting harmonic depth. Good time music this is not, but the seasoned listener will find much to enjoy.

Koldkrypt takes another tact but similarly emphasizes structure: long, elaborate processions of melodic riffing take sharp turns into brutal key changes, slipping cleanly (but not easily) between the ecstatic and the misanthropic. Channeling the energy of French tradition, Gothenburg melodeath, and numerous other fields, this is a record with tremendous range but a nonetheless fully coalesced sound. Did you get your Seigneur Voland in my At the Gates, or did I get my At the Gates in your Seigneur Voland?

0:00:00 - Intro/Avsky - Sjukdom och död (Independent)

0:31:40 - Theriomorph - Diabolical Bloodswords (Terratur Possessions)

1:14:45 - Interlude - Vordr - “Fertile Human Waste” fr. I (Nykta Records, 2004)

1:18:38 - Koldkrypt - Holocauste Global (Hessian Firm)

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