We have to go back, bros. In today's episode of Terminus, your hosts travel back to 1990 to cover two obscure records close to their hearts, each operating in the primordial ooze of death metal, grindcore, thrash, and hardcore, but with completely contrasting sounds. TBMG brings to the occasion Prophecy of Doom, whose 1990 record resembles Deviated Instinct or early Bolt Thrower but with a demented industrial-stench aesthetic all their own. TDMG's plus one: Righteous Pigs, who create what sounds...
Jun 26, 2025•1 hr 59 min•Ep. 199
What happens when you record an all-timer? What happens when you permanently alter the course of an entire genre of music? What happens when a set of very precise techniques enter the basic DNA of an entire generation? On this episode, TDMG and TBMG discuss Sargeist, a band whose influence is so vast it's nearly unnoticed, taking a look at their seminal 2010 record Let the Devil In and their brand new release, Flame Within Flame. Can the band ever achieve the heights of the past? Or, more import...
Jun 11, 2025•2 hr 40 min•Ep. 198
TDMG returns with the (somehow) highly anticipated second installment of Balaclava Books, and the second installment of his investigation into Peter Sotos' Total Abuse. This time, we take a look at Tool, the notorious eight-part work which displays Peter Sotos finding his footing in his own style and plumbing ever-deeper depths of human despair and cruelty. Listener discretion strongly advised. 0:00:00 - Intro 0:11:33 - Tool. and Total Abuse 0:19:30 - One (Quality Time) 0:38:36 - Five 0:56:06 - ...
May 27, 2025•1 hr 42 min•Ep. 197
Thought we were dead? You fucking wish! Terminus is back with a hot one long in the making, where your hosts take a look at the seminal mid-00s work of Enmity and Last Days of Humanity while drawing out broader ideas of brutal death metal's proximity to noise. If black metal without heavy metal gets you Blazebirth Hall, what happens when a similar concept is applied to death metal? Only the most extreme music ever made. After the reviews, stick around for a guided tour of some of TDMG's favorite...
May 12, 2025•2 hr 14 min•Ep. 196
What, you want a cute little description of the episode? It's BOLT THROWER. 0:00:00 - Intro / a brief history of Bolt Thrower and stenchcore 0:38:48 - Realm of Chaos (Slaves to Darkness) (Earache Records, 1989) 1:43:49 - Interlude - Bolt Thrower - “World Eater 94” fr. Who Dares Wins (Earache Records, 1998) 1:49:57 - The IVth Crusade (Earache Records, 1992) 3:16:28 - Just Before Dawn - “The Gulf of Tonkin” fr. A War Too Far (Raw Skull Recordz, 2023) HERESY CORRECTIVE: In a moment of warp-tainted ...
Apr 01, 2025•3 hr 21 min•Ep. 195
In the inaugural episode of a new series on extreme literature, TDMG explores the earliest work by the infamous Peter Sotos, plunging headlong into the most perverse incarnation of so-called "true crime" writing in the beginning of an effort to explore the real power within one of the world's most scorned authors. Listener discretion strongly advised. 0:00:00 - Peter Sotos 0:19:50 - Total Abuse 0:28:41 - Pure Terminus on Youtube Terminus on Patreon TDMG on Substack thetrueterminus@gmail.com...
Feb 25, 2025•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 194
On the newest episode of I Hate Video Games and Never Play Them, your host tackles a game almost universally played but rarely taken seriously: Peggle, the physics puzzler that marks the apex of Popcap Games- and maybe casual games as a whole. Terminus links: Terminus on Youtube Terminus on Patreon TDMG on Substack thetrueterminus@gmail.com...
Feb 16, 2025•29 min•Ep. 193
A spectre is haunting black metal- that of the industrial black metal style of the late 90s and early 00s. Foremost among that cadre is Aborym, Italian stallions of legend now forgotten in the revised zeitgeist of 2025. Join your hosts as we examine Aborym's first and third records, discovering that not only are they not just "an industrial black metal band," but that they actually created some of the best and most forward-thinking extreme metal of the era. What, are you "too cool" for The Matri...
Feb 11, 2025•1 hr 50 min•Ep. 192
On the new bite-sized episode of I Hate Video Games and Never Play Them, your host takes a look at A Short Hike, a tiny game about a little bird on a medium-sized adventure with big pixels. Terminus links: Terminus on Youtube Terminus on Patreon TDMG on Substack thetrueterminus@gmail.com...
Feb 06, 2025•17 min•Ep. 191
In 2025's first assault, the plucky doughboys at Terminus investigate an obscure gem of 90s black metal: Niden Div. 187. Best known for featuring members of a host of Swedish death metal bands, the project stands on its own as a truly remarkable artifact of the era, far ahead of its time in melody and experimental structures. Sit back, relax, and enjoy an episode longer than the band's entire discography. 0:00:00 - Intro 0:06:28 - Niden Div. 187 1:21:45 - Outro - Zyklon-B - “Mental Orgasm” fr. B...
Feb 03, 2025•1 hr 25 min•Ep. 190
For the first volley of non-musical content, The Death Metal Guy starts a new program: I Hate Video Games and Never Play Them, a series of deep dive, essayistic critiques of games in the style you know and (hopefully) love. This time, he takes a look at Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice, a 2017 third person action/puzzle game from Ninja Theory best known for its deep themes and striking presentation- but does it live up to the hype? Listen and find out. But also, no. Terminus links: Terminus on Youtu...
Jan 23, 2025•2 hr 2 min•Ep. 189
GENTLEMEN... BEHOLD! The Terminus Omega 2024 livestream is now mirrored here for your podcast listening pleasure. Join TBMG, TDMG, and harried Terminus intern Hyper Shaman as we go through the highlights of the year with helpful input from our... adoring(?) audience. This one was a great time and we hope those of you who don't typically listen on Youtube will enjoy listening as much as we did streaming. For those who weren't there: 2025 will feature some big but positive changes for Terminus, fe...
Jan 14, 2025•2 hr 36 min•Ep. 188
In this titanic, tumultuous episode of Terminus, we have the rare pleasure of covering two bands that complement each other perfectly. First up, it’s jazzy brutal death from Germany. Second, it’s German brutal-deathy jazz, or…. something? Both bands feature legendary German drummer Lille Gruber, on legendary German drums. Both records are insanely good. We had a lot of fun with this one, and we hope you do, too. 0:00:00 - Intro 0:03:31 - Defeated Sanity - Chronicles of Lunacy (Season of Mist) 0:...
Dec 18, 2024•1 hr 41 min•Ep. 187
This season, give thanks for the only thing in your life that truly matters - Terminus: Extreme Metal Podcast. In this great and terrible new episode, your hosts investigate new records from two esoteric enclaves of Russian black metal. You know we’re obsessed with this shit. So are you. Buckle up. 00:00 - Intro 0:03:35 - Blackdeath - Mortui Incedere Possunt (End All Life Productions / NoEvDia) Mad kappelmeisters of St. Petersburg wring jagged melodies from demon-addled fiddles. With ingenious f...
Nov 29, 2024•1 hr 58 min•Ep. 186
TDMG has returned after withstanding the wrath of nature with shotgun and Miller High Life in hand just in time for an episode of punishing midpaced crunch courtesy of TBMG. After a mini-review of Keroeis, a project by associates of TDMG which plays around the edges of older USBM ala Black Funeral with updates from the orthodox scene, we move toward more minimal territory. Deadform: stenchcore supergroup dwelling in the realms of noisy, nihilistic sludge. Barathrum: long-running Finnish legends ...
Nov 07, 2024•2 hr 1 min•Ep. 185
As The Death Metal Guy recovers from the tumult of hurricane season, I call upon our bold young comrade Hyper Shaman to fill TDMG’s capacious, plutonium-toed boots. Our aim? Get caught up on GLORIOUS PAGAN BLACK METAL. This episode began as a normal two-record show, but due to time constraints, and the sheer scale of the work at hand, it became a standalone review of the new album by Auld Ridge. Here, O.W.G.A. steps out of the shadows and takes a fighting stance, reworking his symphonic style ar...
Oct 20, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 184
Terminators, thank you for your patience. After a couple weeks’ delay, for which TDMG has a good excuse (two fucking hurricanes) and I have none, we’re back! Or rather, I’m back, with a big interview. A couple weeks ago, I had the pleasure of speaking with Chris Naughton, frontman of Winterfylleth and pioneer of modern pagan black metal. I asked him to draw up a list of five quintessentially English bands/scenes that fed into the Winterfylleth sound. These serve as touchstones for a conversation...
Oct 15, 2024•2 hr 22 min•Ep. 183
On Terminus 163, we hearken back to the early days of the show with a wildly disparate lineup - two bands united only by their weirdness, and by the suddenness of their return. 00:00 - Intro 0:04:03 - Viscera Infest - Teratoma (Obliteration Records) Japanese brutal goregrinders break out of the psych ward with a shockingly fast and noisy reinterpretation of Death Metal - this is “full spectrum death metal” with all the insanity of the margins intact. 0:46:31 - Interlude - Deranged - “Imbecile Hu...
Oct 02, 2024•1 hr 40 min•Ep. 182
Terminus 162 is unusually contentious, at least relative to the last few years of the show. In this episode, we both bring black metal records aimed at broad accessibility, yet staunchly refuse to enjoy each other’s picks. Terminators, choose your fighter! (And in the comments, let us know who wins which round.) 00:00 - Intro 0:01:41 - Winterfylleth - The Imperious Horizon (Candlelight Records) English black metal standardbearers return with their most well-rounded, ambitious record to date. 0:5...
Sep 19, 2024•1 hr 49 min•Ep. 181
On Terminus 161, we bring you two short and ripping records from bands we’ve covered in the past and reference frequently, both obsessively devoted to the extremity arms race, both back with #3. 0:01:45 - Pneuma Hagion - From Beyond (Everlasting Spew Records) Blasting USDM titans consolidate their sound around…. the slow parts? Rest assured, the ziggurat has never been vaster, denser, or more hungry for the blood of stars. 0:44:06 - Interlude - Baphomet - “The Age of Plague,” fr. The Dead Shall ...
Sep 11, 2024•1 hr 32 min•Ep. 180
Returning from an interviewmission, Terminus is back with a couple records at least approximately located in the outlaw rock space. First up--the sophomore release of Ink & Fire which trades a bit of the debut's wild chaos for a more deliberate and precise melodic attack. Second, the debut by Ghost of Lietus, a Strix Askesis side project which augments Slavic and Hellenic black metal styles with an additional flair of traditional heavy metal and psych rock. 0:00:00 - Intro 0:04:28 - Ink &...
Sep 05, 2024•1 hr 46 min•Ep. 179
While conducting a dangerous Thulean reconnaisance mission, The Black Metal Guy managed to bed down in enemy triangle black metal territory to conduct a casual interview with a rare ally: Adrian Brachmann, whose projects Níðstöng and Perkwunos we have covered in earlier episodes. While dodging fire from the remains of the Orthodox scene, your intrepid host and his frigid counterpart enjoy a talk over coffee about Adrian's projects, his future musical plans, the broader black metal scene, and, of...
Aug 25, 2024•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 178
WE LIVE... AGAIN. Terminus is back from summer break with a hot-ass episode of PURE BRUTAL DEATH METAL. To celebrate the start of Slam Boy Summer we have a four-banger of high profile records that we've been meaning to get to. First up- the sophomore record by 200 Stab Wounds- can they navigate the switch to a major metal label with their sound intact. Next up, Wormed, who attempt to bring their unique style of brutal death up to date with high profile influences. Third, the shocking return of C...
Aug 16, 2024•2 hr 58 min•Ep. 177
As Terminus prepares for its annual summer break (jetskiing, goblin slaying, etc.), we unleash a big black metal episode focused on only the coolest of wizard music. After an opening salvo by new project Arcane Bayonet, who present an oddball take on pagan black metal laced with black and roll, we get to a triumvirate of powerful spellcasting madness. First: the new record by Sear Bliss, legendary Hungarian hedge mages whose style of black/doom/folk/melodeath is as varied and well rounded as it ...
Jul 13, 2024•3 hr•Ep. 176
To abruptly switch gears from our Very Special Episode earlier this week, we deliver reviews of the newest installments from two tech death giants. Ulcerate is back with their seventh full-length record which shows the band committing even more fully to the elements of post-rock, black metal, and textured drone which have helped define their sound- but have they strayed too far from the path? Pitted against them is the mutated monstrosity Malignancy's fourth full-length, which seeks to bring the...
Jun 28, 2024•1 hr 44 min•Ep. 175
Hark! What's that on the distant horizon? Could it be a Very Special Episode of Terminus? It certainly is, one brought out for that most special of occasions--a new Burzum... album? Compilation? Collection of thematically related tracks? That's just one of the many, many questions this record inspires. Burzum is back to metal-- or something like it, at least-- and it's certainly an unusual take on the style. Combining neofolk, doom, ambient, and black metal, Burzum's new record suggests an entir...
Jun 26, 2024•1 hr 27 min•Ep. 174
Welcome back to Terminus: Extreme MetaHEY WHATTAYA DOIN' THERE! Yep, it's one of THOSE episodes, where we explore the furthest fringes of our established content, this time featuring two bands near and dear to our respective co-hosts hearts. In one corner: TDMG reps his set for Knocked Loose, which features a spirited discussion of the past, present, and future of metalcore, the usage of nu-metal technique, and what the band's success means for the broader world of heavy music. In the other corn...
Jun 15, 2024•2 hr 7 min•Ep. 173
Continuing this year's ongoing theme of triumphant returns come two excellent records--one highly anticipated, and the other utterly unexpected. Side A: the return of Adversarial, a TDMG favorite whose brand of death-fueled war metal smashes contemporaries with a flail of technicality, extremity, and potent atmosphere. Side B: the shocking return of Tsatthoggua, German blasting black metal legends whose new record picks up almost exactly where the band left off a quarter century prior. Put on yo...
Jun 06, 2024•1 hr 55 min•Ep. 172
On this very special episode of Terminus, your intrepid hosts are joined by a mysterious guest many of you may be familiar with: the notorious Jiub of Radio Free Innsmouth, extreme metal aficiando, deep-dive podcaster, and wonderful kisser. After an intro salvo from TBMG featuring the debut demo of Brazen Horde with its back-to-the-roots Slavic drone, we encounter two new releases from Iron Bonehead. First: the new full length by Crucifier, which reinterprets multiple riffing styles through the ...
May 18, 2024•1 hr 53 min•Ep. 171
After a brief torpor in recovery from our epic (in the true sense of the word) dissection of the Spite Extreme Wing discography, Terminus returns with a tight episode featuring, quite specifically, two New Zealand war metal bands with highly anticipated returns. In this corner: Diocletian, with a record that returns to their roots, provoking a sometimes contentious reponse from their audience. In the other: Heresiarch, who come back with a substantially altered sound leaning into the more progre...
May 14, 2024•1 hr 39 min•Ep. 170
