Album Review: Terminalist - The Crisis as Condition
Reviewed by Matthew Williams
Following on from their debut 2021 album, 'The Great Acceleration', Danish-American hyperthrashers Terminalist, return with their second album, 'The Crisis as Condition', with their take on the 1980’s technical thrash genre, but it’s a more complex time that the band find themselves currently in, with the 80’s belief that good times were ahead, replaced by a bleak and pessimistic realism.
The band have written 7 songs for this album, starting off with the frenetic 'Life Won’t Last' and as the name of the album suggests, the songs cover the crises that surrounds us, the war in Ukraine, inequality and the deepening political polarisation. And they express this not only with their lyrics, but with an all-encompassing musical performance throughout.
After the frantic pace of the opening salvo, the title track 'The Crisis as Condition' picks up the baton and races the next 100 metres with more whipped up fury, guitarist Emil Hansen and Morten R.Bruun, doing a superb job of riffing their way throughout the song, making the 5 minutesg go really quickly, as it’s incredibly satisfying to listen to. And then it gives way to more intense riffing with the song 'A Future to Weave'.
Whereas their debut album was a commentary on the future space race and the inherently destructive side of technology, this new offering is a detached and impassioned look at the present, with a fierce analysis of a crisis ridden society. The songs are ambitious and the rhythms intricate, with middle songs 'Last Remains' and my personal favourite, 'Frenetic Standstill' showcasing their technical thrash roots mixed with black metal to create their own unique sound.
With 'Mutating Fractures' and the 10 minute plus epic 'Move in Strife' completing the songs, the album is very well produced, with the talents of drummer Frederick Amris and bassist Kalle Tiihonen given good prominence in the mix, and it has a great blend of slow, mid and fast parts scattered throughout the songs.
