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Rating:
8.4 |
Terra Tenebrosa - The Purging
22 February 2013
01. The Redeeming Teratoma
02. The Compression Chamber
03. Black Pearl In A Crystalline Shell
04. House Of Flesh
05. The Nucleus Turbine
06. The Purging
07. Terra Tenebrosa
08. At The Foot Of The Tree
09. Disintegration
10. The Reave
Terra Tenebrosa relish in their own secrecy and sound of mystique. Through mask and hood the band view things in an uncompromisingly dismal light and what we get from their music is something which you know just should not be there, yet there it is. The avant-garde expression of The Purging isn't exactly becoming to all listeners, especially considering the difficulty in linking comparisons, yet its self assured character is well manifest.
Such a unique experience can throw up a shroud before you which doesn't immediately reveal its inner workings willingly. It has an alluring pull the listener may not be able to withdraw from, the kind of sound that may at once sound disconcerting yet enticing. Once you start listening you want to know more as things start to coalesce. Curiosity killed the cat, or purged the cat in this case.
Avant-garde fans are likely to fall into such an album readily and face first, with it absorbing their attention like a sponge, yet the strong compositions here will have a pull on a wide variety of listeners. Much of the album has a depth to it which allows for the effective burial of its crux of post-black riffs of which some may identify a sludge-like semblance to their sometimes trudging often unsettling nature. The bass breathes well throughout despite all of its depth, often forming the fundamental lines behind the jarring guitars. A fully fledged dissonance is cleverly masked and honed in a listenable flow by an abundance of captivating layers, it being encapsulated within a thick coat of industrial sound effects, an ever morphing vocal presence and cacophonous walls of crashing cymbals.
"The Nucleus Turbine", probably one of the most challenging tracks to come to terms with, is a maddening game of follow the drum beats, which circulate erratically as if caught in a turbine around a centrally audible drone. The addition of insane whispers, chuckling, cackling and industrially rendered utterances that make little sense all aid its gripping gradual pace. And I don't mean to alarm you (I lie, that's exactly what I intend to do) but those incessant voices are everywhere and they force their way into just about every track, which might give you the impression that a visit to the psychiatrist is next on the agenda, after the album's finished, of course.
The ambient additions further enrich the album's surface, being used throughout various tracks, while also forming structural foundations such as in the opening "The Redeeming Teratoma", "At The Foot Of The Tree" or closer "The Reave." The intro to the self-titled "Terra Tenebrosa" begins like some pivotal scene in a sci-fi epic and ghoulish howls gradually and subtly occupy the background before descending into a slow pace of avant-garde lumbering which embeds itself in the memory.
Terra Tenebrosa laughs maniacally in the face of convention, The Purging proving to be a cathartic salve for all those who like their metal manoeuvring the genre's unexplored fringes.
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Performance:
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8 |
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Songwriting:
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8 |
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Originality:
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10 |
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Production:
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9 |
written by R'Vannith | 03.03.2013 |
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Comments
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| Comments: |
14
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Users visited:
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263 |
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 Susan - 03.03.2013 at 06:22
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| SERIOUSLY creepy cover art!! |
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"Curiosity purged the cat"  I love your reviews, man.
This album is really getting into my head unlike their previous one, which I'm retrying at this very moment. |
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 mz - 03.03.2013 at 07:25
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Well, I would say this album is not original as their first one and its originality does not qualify as 10, still pretty original, I admit. The tunnels was much more drone driven, layered and dissonant. This one, on the other hand, sounds more divers.
Also, your review reminds me those of Der and Joe, too intelligent and advance in vocabulary for me but you described this album well  |
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An album of post-black riffs, ambient additions, and a nice, audible bass, that "avante-garde fans are likely to fall into face first"? Shit man, you're speaking my language.
Never checked these guys out before, but I heard good things about The Tunnels back in 2011, and something about this album cover was calling my name when I first saw it on here, so now I absolutely must give this a peek.
Excellent review too as usual, I'm sure this isn't exactly the easiest album to put into words. |
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Thanks guys.  I'd also like to mention there was a train (steam powered by the sounds of it) in there at some point, title track I think. So watch out for it when you're on the "tracks", I nearly died.  |
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| Nice review dud! And yes, "The Nucleus Turbine" is one hell of a creepy affair! |
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Written by Darkside Momo on 03.03.2013 at 15:37
Nice review dud! And yes, "The Nucleus Turbine" is one hell of a creepy affair!
Thanks Momo! I like how that track is placed in the middle of the album too. If I might extend the turbine metaphor: the whole album spins around it.  |
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Written by R'Vannith on 03.03.2013 at 15:50
Written by Darkside Momo on 03.03.2013 at 15:37
Nice review dud! And yes, "The Nucleus Turbine" is one hell of a creepy affair!
Thanks Momo! I like how that track is placed in the middle of the album too. If I might extend the turbine metaphor: the whole album spins around it.
come to think of it... I guess you're right! |
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| If I can accept the fact that there is hardly any "post" in this whatsoever I probably will dig this. Nice review R, as usual |
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Written by tea[m]ster on 03.03.2013 at 19:15
If I can accept the fact that there is hardly any "post" in this whatsoever I probably will dig this. Nice review R, as usual
There was never really any "post" in this band. I'm really not sure how that idea ever got out. This is as avant-garde as you can really get. |
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Written by !J.O.O.E.! on 03.03.2013 at 19:16
There was never really any "post" in this band. I'm really not sure how that idea ever got out. This is as avant-garde as you can really get.
Yea, agreed. Probably because the band has former members of Breach, which was a post rock/metal band and/or some teenage fool put the tag on his blogspot. |
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Great review, dude! Haven't heard it all yet so I still have some work to do...
Written by Susan on 03.03.2013 at 06:22
SERIOUSLY creepy cover art!!
I personally find the debut to have a creepier cover art but this one is cool too. XP |
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| This album is really great! it has the unique and pure style in avantgrade |
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| I wish the rest of the album was more like The Nucleus Turbine and less like House of Flesh and the title track. There are some really great moments, and overall it's a strong album. But when they get loud and aggressive it kind of breaks the spell for me. |
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