Terminus Episode 52 - Oriflamme, Anahata, Midnight Betrothed, Anatomia

In this turgid and sprawling episode of Terminus, your intrepid hosts go an adventure of full autism in true Terminus form. References to Spite Extreme Wing? Check. The Black Metal Guy discussing mythology uninterrupted for ten minutes? Check. The Death Metal Guy slowly becoming nonfunctionally stoned while discussing Japanese doomdeath? Check. This episode is a work of ages, featuring four records of tremendously varying sound but rigorous pursuit of personal vision.

We begin in true Terminus form with a comfortable starting point: the ferocious, epic, and driving assault of Quebecois freshmen Oriflamme, whose inaugural recording combines delicate strands of French and Mediterranean black metal distilled into a dark, enraged edge of obsidian beauty. Both hosts are invariably stoked, but disagree on some of the finer points: is this outlaw rock? Does it sound like BBH? How do you pronounce the album title, anyway? Discussion ensues but concludes with an obvious command to all Terminators: Buy This Now.

In the interest of expanding the show's horizons, The Black Metal Guy brings another debut onto the show with Anahata's first foray into flagon-pounding traditional heavy metal. Anahata's sound is resolutely committed to the traditions of the 80s, but subtle influences from modern extreme metal abound, making for stomping sing-along anthems with exactly the sort of intrigue growing Black and Death Metal Guys need. Still glance longingly at the 3 Inches of Blood hoodie in your closet on occasion? Your moment has arrived.

After a visit to the past with Jag Panzer, The Death Metal Guy switches gears dramatically with Midnight Betrothed, an Australian project who presents low-fi, synth-focused black metal with a bevy of bizarre influences- most of them outside of metal. Is it black metal? Dungeon Synth? A weird sort of ambient music? None of the above- it is the advent of (much to The Black Metal Guy's chagrin) Lo-Fi Black Metal Beats to Study or Relax To.

Riding high on good times so far? That deficiency is corrected as Anatomia rises from their crypt to bestow a masterpiece of tumorous, deformed doomdeath upon the masses. Your hosts have been long time fans of the band and are pleasantly surprised to see that the ante is upped as the tempo is lowered, as four tracks of slimy, plague-ridden funeral doom obliterate subwoofers and reap souls. In the words of our favorite funeral doom band, Hatebreed: YOUR DOOM AWAITS YOU!

 

0:00 - Introductory bullshitting

0:09:14 - Oriflamme - L'Égide Ardente (Sepulchral Productions)

0:54:59 - Anahata - Auspicious Atavism (Independent)*

1:48:04 - Interlude - Jag Panzer - “Warfare,” fr. Ample Destruction (Iron Works, 1984)

1:53:13 - Midnight Betrothed - Dreamless (Atrocity Altar/Northern Silence)

2:23:15 - Anatomia - Corporeal Torment (Me Saco un Ojo Records/Dark Descent Records)

3:06:47 - Outro - Disjecta Membrae - De Exorcismis et Suplicationibus Quibusdam LIBER I fr. De Exorcismis et Suplicationibus Quibusdam LIBER I (Independent, 2017)

*CORRECTION: Anahata has a third member! Australian axelord Jack Heath plays leads. TBMG mistakenly assumed he was a session contributor.

 

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