Terex Titan

The Tempest

5 Feet Under Records 2013

Danish post-hardcore sludge and doom comes oozing from my speakers as the new album from Terex Titan gets underway.  The album starts with Cruising Titan and its bruising, sludgy riffs and some of the most angry vocals I have heard.  The song's slow, thick riffs have doomy accents but you definitely feel the hardcore undercurrents in the track's foundation.  A ropey bassline sets up more guitars to batter your eardrums.  Aalborg Sleepwalk Massacre picks up the pace and reminds me at times of some Entombed influenced Death N Roll.  It has a rockin' groove and hefty riffs to leave you overwhelmed. The churning and chugging riffs of Armageddon bludgeon you in their measured pace and the Swedish influence is noticeable, especially during the atmospheric near melodies that rise up occasionally.  A steady groove overtakes the song and carries it into its climax.  The title-track reverts to the band's doomier leanings with a slow, trudging main riff that crushes stone beneath its weight.  The varied vocal styles of raw screams and deathly gruffness serve to punctuate the brutality of the riffs' mammoth size.  The acoustic guitar that appears at the 2:30 mark adds a nice touch of atmosphere and foreboding before the massive riffs return.  The final track, Shadows Of The Lost is a totally rockin', traditional sludge/doom song that rumbles and rolls with a distinct southern tinge.  About halfway through the song collapses into a guitar march of cyclopean proportions.  A casual listen to the album might make this song seem out of place but if you have been paying attention it totally fits in.  Terex Titan's debut is a diverse, yet cohesive album of post-hardcore groove and sludge that will at times rock and at times hammer you with its heaviness.