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doomedandstoned · 3 years

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Terminus Make Triumphant Return in ‘The Silent Bell Toll’

~Doomed & Stoned Debuts~

By Billy Goate

Album art by Sebastian Thomas

TERMINUS is not exactly a new band, having first landed on our ears in 2012 with a humble self-titled EP, followed by a mean mother of a full-length debut in 2013. The rhapsodic second LP, Safe Travels, See You Never appeared in 2015 followed by a third album Fortune Looming in 2017.

Usually operating as a four piece, the Fayetteville band stands on their forthcoming fourth full-length as a trio with constant members Sebastian Thomas on guitar and vocals, Julian Thomas on bass and vocals, and Scott Wood on drums. 'The Silent Bell Toll' (2021) opens with a short, but brilliant instrumental, "Failure of Grief." Like the recent impressive debut from Moanhand, Terminus has figured out how to mine the depths of sorrow with deep, affecting tones that you can feel right down in your gut. The net effect is like being surrounded by a sonic fortress of empathetic solitude.

This leads into "Dying To Breathe" which takes up more of a rapturous, though still somewhat bittersweet temperament. The drums are robust and strong, well-recorded so you can experience them in all their fullness. The guitars riff away valiantly, later to join in the most fantastic duet. What's going to blow your socks off, though, is the vocals, which are dashing and heroic with impressive harmonic layering among the Terminus singers.

"Black Swan" was an early single and it's the one that convinced me this band had something extraordinary to offer our jaded ear drums in 2021. The guitars strike a Gypsyhawk-style poise, with emphasis on the instrument's mid-to-high range spectrum, which sets us up for an irresistible chorus. Remember when you used to sing along with metal? No band seems better positioned to bring that back the celebratory spirit of the medium right now than bands like Terminus, Void Vator, and Boss Keloid.

"The Lion's Den" is an absolute barnstormer of a song, with elements of post-hardcore, post-metal, and modern rock, but that underlying lowtuned heaviness that gives it such grit. The vocals are once again clean, earnest, and expansive, with moments of harmony that shine brilliantly, much like the great Sacto band Chrome Ghost.

"Origin of Fossils" is an instrumental interlude that makes a statement very well without words. There's certainly an element of fantasy about it, as if it were some long forgotten folktale. This bleeds into "The Falcon," a track that takes wings indeed, with a galloping rhythm that would make Black Sabbath proud. By now, you're starting to acclimate to the song style with its New Wave of Traditional Heavy Metal fervor, emotive verses, wild solos, and doomy grind.

Album namesake, "The Silent Bell Toll," returns us to the gravitas of the first track, bearing a distinctive medieval spirit as the guitars bust out the opening section. Some may draw parallels to Pallbearer and Torche as they listen, and those are good anchors to hold on to -- though Terminus once again takes everything and raises it up a notch or two with that glorious vocal approach of theirs (here the singing is a bit too high for my taste, but when the low end kicks in that hard driving doom, the contrast is very convincing.

"Dawn of Fire" lights up, but is quickly consumed by the worshipful, yet strangely narcotic organ play that introduces "Oh Madrigal," which like the type of lyrical poem it is named for has a taste of "old doom" about it. The chorus here may be the most impactful of the record, which I'll say again sounds positively worshipful -- but not like I've heard coming out of any church choir. Dual guitars provide effective filigree around each tenacious verse, as the rhythm section supports the song's development brilliantly.

Simply put, I've not heard anything like this album this year, last year, or the year before that, no matter how far I try to go back. The Silent Bell Toll stands out as spry of spirit and brimming with inspiration. I could see Terminus getting a huge reception at a festival like Psycho Las Vegas or Maryland Doom Fest, not to mention overseas.

Look for The Silent Bell Toll to release on August 20th, with Doomed & Stoned giving you the world streaming debut here and now (pre-order here). The album is nothing short of a wonder, hence you're likely to see us revisit it when we come to account for great albums on Pandemic Planet in 2021.

Give ear...

The Silent Bell Toll by TERMINUS

Interview with Sebastian Thomas of Terminus

We invited guitarist and vocalist Sebastian Thomas to give us his take on each song on 'The Silent Bell Toll.'

1. The Failure of Grief

With this track the guitar melody came to me while playing classical guitar pretty late at night. Similar to the way authors like to talk about writing at 3am and how differently your brain works at that time, I think the same can be applied to the guitar when thinking about music. The duel lead guitars happened so naturally the next morning that I feel like I didn’t write anything and just got away with it instead.

2. Dying to Breathe

This was one of the first tracks we wrote and I was really thinking about the rhythm of the drums and vocals more than I was the guitar. We ended up re-recording the vocals because the delivery required a bit more of a natural feel which was a really valuable lesson. The main break riff where everything cuts to the guitars was something I like to write while picturing us playing live. Riffs like that can feel pretty exciting when directed at an audience.

3. Black Swan

The opening lead guitar melody is another example of something that you are not quite sure where it came from while you are mucking about on the guitar but it instantly gave me a “This is the single” type of feeling. The break riff and breakdown riff is something we had in our repertoire for a very long time and it was satisfying to finally find a place for them.

4. The Lion’s Den

This was definitely a riff first type of track that really teaches you about the importance of space within a song in regards to telling a story. My favorite vocal is when the third chorus is on its last line where we ended up layering several harmonious vocals that sound like something Queen would record on their album Sheer Heart Attack. The guitar solo at the end also has a nice unifying feel with the drums.

5. Origin of Fossils

This is a completely instrumental track that just felt like it didn’t need vocals to tell its own story. The melody came to me while driving on a highway in Arkansas and thinking about how solitude can provide a weird sense of mystical togetherness. I felt like I was gathered around a strange table of humanity in a dream and was merely a ghost. Melody sometimes conveys a floating feeling of melancholy to me but is not necessarily negative or positive. It is just there and is something I feel like I should listen to and deal with.

6. The Falcon

The opening riff reminds me of an old Irish jig coupled with something Matt Pike would enjoy playing rhythmically. We adore riffs that do their thing and then unify into a harmonious melody that can be uplifting. The break riff reminds me of an ancient boat being tossed at sea while the oars continue to plunge into the ocean and drive the vessel onward. I think the chorus was also a pretty daring risk in terms of how we balance heaviness with melody.

7. The Silent Bell Toll

This might be our Opus of the album which is why it is the title track. We were all pretty excited by its structure and loved the feat of trying to summarize the feeling of triumph and mourning simultaneously with the lead guitars. In the chorus I honestly feel like I am addressing the listener with a sense of urgency and empathy perhaps even a little melodramatically, but it is there if the listener needs the message.

8. Dawn of Fire

This track feels like more of a mood than a story in the way it sets up the last track. It feels like the morning before a great battle happens and you are on the castle wall looking down at the enemy below. You are terrified but prepared. This came to us while thinking about the way something grandiose sometimes requires a tone of foreshadowing. I love how old movies like Ben Hur used to use what’s called an Overture, where technically the movie has begun but people are still finding their seats in the theatre, talking to their neighbors, or getting a drink. The tone and music of their experience plays in the theatre delivering the various moods and themes of what they are about to go through that evening.

9. Oh Madrigal

This track is a reward to those who stick around and are looking for something on the more Doom side of our catalogue. The song feels like a closing track with lyrical messages and riffs that summarize our mission statement as a band. Though the lyrics are a bit bleak, the track closes on an ultimately victorious note with harmonious guitars that feel like they are trying to push you forward in life.

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