Terminal Nation : Echoes of the Devil’s Den
Terminal Nation‘s Echoes of the Devil’s Den is one of the heaviest albums to drop so far this year, a behemoth crafted with a great deal of sonic depth. Upon first listen it’s the hardcore stomp and attitude that are most noticeable, but after further exploration and repeat listens, the death metal elements begin to reveal themselves through the Entombed influence in their dense riffage. The Little Rock band’s body of work was largely documented over the past decade through a series of EPs and singles, as Echoes of the Devil’s Den is only the band’s second full-length, following 2020’s Holocene Extinction. But as they carve deeper into a death metal-tinged sound, they continue to rail against law enforcement and the military-industrial complex, churning out guitar riffs that set the stage for this burning dystopia.
The band’s discontent is voiced through a series of animalistic snarls that often drop down into a death metal guttural. Throughout the album, lead vocalizer Stan Liszewski gets help from a rogues gallery of hardcore greats, ranging from Dwid Hellion from Integrity to Killswitch Engage crooner Jesse Leach, who each lend their vocal cords to the cause. Where Dwid offers a leather-lunged bellow not unlike the late Lemmy Kilmister’s musings, Leach offers hookier fare not unlike what is common on Sirrus XM’s metal channels. Other notable vocal contributions include Nails’ Todd Jones lending his testosterone-fueled bark to “Written By the Victor” as well as Sex Prisoner’s K. Kennedy lending some vocal angst to “Cemetery of Imposters.”
When the drums gain momentum it’s difficult to hear where the metal ends and the hardcore begins. The bleakness captured in their songs is key in drawing the mood deeper into metal. The double bass that empowers “The Spikes Under the Bridge” conveys the malevolent intent that separates the hyper aggression of death metal aggression from hardcore’s raw emotional explosion. The balance of these influences gives the weight of the chug of guitars more impact.
Guitarists Tommy Robinson and Dalton Rail prove themselves capable enough to indulge in guitar solos that could have come straight from an ’80s Metallica album. It’s a nice melodic embellishment rather than an extended fixation on masturbatory shredding, and even at higher speeds the song never feels rushed, allowing time for grooves to develop organically. This dark, gritty riff fest is another stellar display of hardcore crossing over with death metal in an effective manner in 2024. It feels above all honest in all its anger, a proper soundtrack to the slow-moving apocalypse happening in America for the better part of the 21st century. It’s a real-time observation of doomsday outside their window, rather than a sci-fi Netflix spectacle.
Label: 20 Buck Spin
Year: 2024
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