Summer yawns over the horizon, but Terminus is interested in something a little colder: today's episode features both DSBM and material descended from Peaceville doom to add some well-needed cynicism to your time by the pool. First up is the return of Austere some 14 years after their last full length. Titans of Australian DSBM, Austere return no less powerful for their time absent, with material just as grey, lonely, and withering as their classic works. Beyond simple depression, though, Auster...
May 21, 2023•2 hr•Ep. 139
Not unlike a vampire repelled by the sign of the cross, TDMG is currently working through his long-buried trauma re: acoustic guitar, and so today's episode is a neofolk special by TBMG and the infamous Hyper Shaman. Neofolk is something we mention on the show quite frequently but only rarely review, so for the more introspective, pastoral, and wizened among us, here's your time to shine. Today's episode presents two very different sides of neofolk which will nonetheless be of interest to all th...
May 12, 2023•2 hr 25 min•Ep. 138
Terminus is back with an oldschool episode- 4 records of descent into complete madness on the part of your intrepid hosts. This time, the mix is an unusual one, from dissonant black to war metal to elaborate death metal and... sophisticated beatdown hardcore? All these things are different but they're all actually the same thing as you'll come to find out. First off, a mini-review courtesy of The Black Metal Guy featuring Chicago's AVOWD, a dissonant black metal project pulled from the 00s featu...
May 01, 2023•2 hr 23 min•Ep. 137
We're excited to announce the proud return of a Terminus tradition- a carefully crafted, thematic episode that TDMG ruins with a random grind record. Who would have thought? Before we dive into two contrasting takes on traditional French black metal, TDMG regales us with the tale of Thai grinders Smallpox Aroma's debut full-length, a sub-20 minute record of blistering, oldschool grindcore with a technical edge and instrumental performances worthy of involuntary psychiatric commitment. Over in Eu...
Apr 24, 2023•2 hr 10 min•Ep. 136
After a brief lull following TBMG's (excellent) interview with Alan Averill, we return with our regularly scheduled programming of elaborate French black metal, absurdist pornogrind, and everything in between. The "in between," in this case, belongs to Demonslaught, forgotten 1.5 wave black metal band from the greater Los Angeles area who recently received a reissue of their second demo. If you want something that sounds like Bathory, Sabbath (JP,) and Possessed falling down an elevator shaft to...
Apr 14, 2023•1 hr 56 min•Ep. 135
Been a while, hasn't it? After a long drought of interview content, The Black Metal Guy returns in full force, bringing you a conversation with the mighty Alan Averill of Primordial, Verminous Serpent (whose debut we reviewed on episode 121), and many more. Alan is well known for his musical accomplishments, but also his own (excellent) podcast,* and what follows is a fascinating conversation on both his own work and the development of extreme metal, from the late 80s to today. Alan and TBMG var...
Apr 06, 2023•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 134
Finally breaking free from the shackles of an endlessly repeated conversation on black metal pornography, your hosts return with an episode of lower-tempo extreme metal from two very different parts of the scene. Featuring a returning fan submission and a record from a style we rarely cover, this episode is a deep cut for those who want to expand their listening habits into uncharted territory. Or maybe charted territory but not usually by us. First up is the return of Thaumaturgy, doom-ridden b...
Apr 01, 2023•1 hr 53 min•Ep. 133
A Terminus first occurs on this episode when, in the intro segment, your intrepid hosts manage to recreate nearly word for word the intro to the last episode out of sheer forgetfulness. We left it in just for you. After the podcasting equivalent of leaving a toddler in a hot car, our episode: First up is Verminous Serpent, a brand new Irish black/doom band staffed by a host of prominent musicians in the Irish scene, foremost among them Alan Averill of Primordial. Whatever comes to mind in terms ...
Mar 25, 2023•1 hr 55 min•Ep. 132
Mom and dad are fighting again. It's been a tough time on the Terminus homestead with regards to scheduling, TDMG waylaid from recording earlier by the insidious trickery of budget airlines. Perhaps a cooling-off period was needed, though, before recording what is perhaps the most contentious episode in Terminus history. Blood must be shed. There is no other path forward. The cause of such discord within the family? The long-awaited return of Cromlech, epic doom purveyors with close ties to the ...
Mar 16, 2023•2 hr 53 min•Ep. 131
After being battered for a fortnight by winds of frost and plague, Terminus once again valiantly gallops into battle against the forces of stoner doom and prog metal with another enthralling installment of the only metal podcast that has ever existed. Weathered and beaten but unbowed, your intrepid hosts present a melange of records from all over the map, starting most curiously with Lovebites, the current spearhead of the Japanese power metal scene. For all those who miss the classic days of ol...
Mar 03, 2023•2 hr 22 min•Ep. 130
As February progresses and winter's grip begins to falter, Terminus takes advantage of this space between seasons to present a real grab bag of an episode. Today's theme? Confidence and boldness, as exhibited by bands from all over the world and in all styles of extreme metal- there's something for everyone here. First: Cuban(!) slam death band Orphan Autopsy, whose refined presentation and brilliant sense of pacing elevates conventional ideas into a slickly listenable but intensely brutal packa...
Feb 17, 2023•2 hr 22 min•Ep. 129
Sunday, February 12th, 2023 marks one of the most important rituals in American culture: the release of a new Terminus episode. We're back with some records the more death metal-inclined Terminators will undoubtedly appreciate, plus an appetizer provided by Russia's Utanförskap, a post-black metal project which arrives at a unique sound through a genuine appreciation and understanding of its post-punk and shoegaze source material. Many of you are undoubtedly soured on the post-black style (for g...
Feb 12, 2023•1 hr 59 min•Ep. 128
Now that the dust has settled from our 2022 recap, it's time for the boys to dive headfirst into the new year with a smattering of genre- and quality-varied records. This week's episode features a major black metal release and a funeral doom record from a friend of the show, but first up- an appetizer. Noisy Neighors' debut full-length truly blasts from stereo speakers with a ripping half hour of traditional yet tightly coiled grindcore- an easy recommendation for all lovers of d-beats and death...
Feb 05, 2023•2 hr 37 min•Ep. 127
The Black Metal Guy slithers out from his dreadful crypt. The Death Metal Guy emerges from his abattoir-cum-brothel. A chill upon the hissing wind raises hackles and lowers spirits. A sluggish and corpulent full moon hangs listlessly just over the horizon. A whisper whips through the trees, barely audible: "please bro I just need an aux cable to run my drum machine through the PA I swear I'll give it back as soon as I'm done with my set." Welcome back to Terminus! At least partially rejuvenated ...
Jan 27, 2023•2 hr 23 min•Ep. 126
By this point into Terminus Winter Break, you've no doubt exhausted our considerable back catalog, and have been reduced to listening to actual music instead of our reviews. But fear not! Every time we go on break, we release one of our elite, patrons-only bonus episodes to all you rank and file terminators. So here's the first single-record episode we've ever done. We think it's some of our best work, and we hope you enjoy it. Most truly great albums leave a legacy, begetting new genres, subgen...
Jan 17, 2023•2 hr 16 min•Ep. 125
The third season of Terminus is drawing to a close, but of course, there's one last matter to attend to: a testimony to the unquestionable best metal records of 2022. As is tradition, our final episode of the year is a sprawling beast where your intrepid hosts discuss all the peaks and valleys of the year in review. This year's list has plenty of surprises in store, with lots of dark horse records creeping their way to the top and others losing steam upon further review. As always, we'll be taki...
Dec 31, 2022•3 hr 17 min•Ep. 124
Merry Christmas and Happy Yule to all terminators (and lumps of coal to those who deny our power)! This is our last main episode of 2022 before we embark on the path to our end of year extravaganza and it's a doozy. We're finishing the year with two black metal records which need zero introduction- one arriving at the end of this week, the other released by surprise. Both these records are the latest installments of long-running, lauded black metal legends, so how does this most recent material ...
Dec 25, 2022•2 hr 21 min•Ep. 123
Another episode so soon? Well, our cold, black hearts felt the distant and chilly fingers of shame over how long the last one took to come out, so we've ramped up production in the Autism Factory just for you! Today's episode is another that focuses on deep cut black metal, but perhaps a little less putrid and decrepit this time around. It's still gnarly, though, as demonstrated by our opening segment on a split between German hordes Burkhartsvinter and Wolfsblut who each present their own take ...
Dec 14, 2022•2 hr 22 min•Ep. 122
With the holiday season comes Terminus descending into scheduling hell, as is tradition. We like to think of it as a fun mystery, like opening presents on Christmas morning: when will the new episode arrive? Will a random bonus episode get released with zero notice? How blackout drunk will one or both hosts be? To answer in order: right now, maybe at some point, and neither, unfortunately. But to that last query, maybe we should have been, considering just how demented and gorked the majority of...
Dec 09, 2022•2 hr 9 min•Ep. 121
If you're wondering why today's installment of Terminus took a while to get to you, it's simple: episode 111 is all about doom, so it moved a little slower. Amidst all the high energy death and black metal we've been covering this year, we've been waiting for the opportunity to cover records a bit more... lethargic. Call us Type O Negative, because today we're going slow, deep, and hard. First up: a mini review of the debut record by Chilean epic doomdeath purveyors Mournument, which fuses roman...
Nov 28, 2022•2 hr 12 min•Ep. 120
Terminus has been, to some degree, derelict in its duty to promote Outlaw Rock this year. Hopefully today's episode ameliorates this deficiency with a grip of records all firmly within this rough and tumble style of black metal(?). For those unfamiliar with the term, Outlaw Rock is a concept formulated by Terminus for a distinct style of USBM with a range of pointedly American influences, from country to hardcore and all points between. In this case, we have two very different sides of the same ...
Nov 20, 2022•2 hr 18 min•Ep. 119
On rare occasion Terminus will dip its toe into the heady waters of "mainstream metal" (referring to bands that human beings listen to)- it's a rare and dangerous venture, but a necessary one. Today's episode is one such occasion, one where owners of Black Metal Tapes Worth More Than Your Life eye us suspiciously, thumbing the hammers of their revolvers under the poker table. Fret not- while today's records might be more popular than our typical fare, both are excellent slabs of death metal root...
Nov 11, 2022•1 hr 49 min•Ep. 118
Gentlemen... behold! A new lean and mean episode of Terminus has arrived now that The Black Metal Guy has returned from Parts Unknown, fattened on the riches of distant lands. What better way to celebrate than with two down-the-line black metal records? We can have a little shrieking, just as a treat. First up is Ateiggär from the Helvetic Underground Committee, a group of Swiss artists we've been following on the show for some time now. Ateiggär reaches back to late 90s and early 00s Scandinavi...
Nov 06, 2022•1 hr 47 min•Ep. 117
Just in time for the spookiest of seasons comes a spine-chilling installment of Terminus with the team you fear most- The Death Metal Guy and Harried Terminus Intern Hyper Shaman. As is (usually) tradition for this combo, we've got a death metal centered episode for you, but fear not: only one of the records discussed has prominent slams! First off, though, is a look at the new Daemogog record, which follows in the style of bands like Astral Tomb in its gangly, abstract take on brutal death tech...
Oct 27, 2022•1 hr 58 min•Ep. 116
We return to your regularly scheduled programming after a brief diversion to record a bonus episode on Lykathea Aflame's seminal Elvenefris (which you should purchase your way into immediately.) This week we're going way down the line with three more-or-less black metal records occupying often-ignored sonic niches of interest to serious listeners. First up: the return of ColdWorld, a DSBM legend who has lost no vigor in the 6 years since the last full length, providing classic melodies with a re...
Oct 18, 2022•2 hr 18 min•Ep. 115
Let's face it, people: 2022 has been a difficult mating season for black metal. They're not sending their best, folks- or at least they haven't been so far. That might all change with today's episode, which features two excellent records of autumnal, melodic, and strikingly structured black metal which reaches back to the trenchcoat era of the late 90s/early 00s for its primary influences. If you're the type of Terminator who listens for assistance in separating the wheat from the chaff: welcome...
Oct 11, 2022•1 hr 55 min•Ep. 114
Again, a bit of a delay, but we've got something to make it up for you: a big, sprawling episode of highly anticipated records and autistic analysis guaranteed to please all Terminators or your money back (please don't call me on this I can't give refunds on Patreon.) This time we're looking at two scrappy, unusual records descended from a parallel universe war metal scene that somehow drifted into our own- one from an established classic act, and another from youthful upstarts on a mission to m...
Oct 05, 2022•2 hr 11 min•Ep. 113
Okay I know last time I said we were back and were gonna be super consistent and everything, but here's the thing: I lied. I lied specifically to hurt you. The relationship between Terminus and its fans is inherently abusive, but don't worry: we're bringing you back some flowers and promising to never do it again with an episode featuring two radically different sides of the wasteland known as Detroit. First up is a band long mentioned but only now getting covered: Syphilic. A longtime favorite ...
Sep 25, 2022•1 hr 40 min•Ep. 112
No excuses this time. We're back. For real. See? We've got another episode? This one's cut in pretty distinct halves, with some remarkably extreme, timbral music on one side and some true to the 80s heavy metal on the other, but surprising threads of composition run through both. To start, though: it's been a little while, so The Death Metal Guy took it upon himself to ruin your day with some brutal death. This time it comes in the form of Solemnity's debut EP, which follows in the footsteps of ...
Sep 08, 2022•1 hr 54 min•Ep. 111
It's been a laborious path, surely, but Terminus is back on track as TBMG and TDMG reunite after a long departure from one another. Creative differences? Lover's quarrel? Nothing so interesting as that. What's important is that we're back to the Terminus you know and love, autistically criticizing unknown records for the pleasure of equally autistic listeners. T-shirts in the back. First up is the return of Vergeblichkeit, whose last record we covered in the very first episode of 2021. The new r...
Aug 29, 2022•2 hr•Ep. 110
