Their rather silly name might trigger images of a humped mammal trudging across acrid terrains, carrying Tony Iommi and Dave Chandler towards doom Mecca, but don’t be misled. This Huddersfield trio-turned-duo’s music is no bong-chugging blaze-out.
Founding guitarist/vocalist Kris Clayton and bassist Simon Whittle, together with talented session drummer Tom Vallely (Lychgate, Macabre Omen), craft doom of the vast, austere, black-hole-gazing variety, seemingly inspired by Vangelis’ subzero synths as much as the forerunners of funeral doom and industrial/post-metal, from My Dying Bride and Esoteric to Neurosis and Godflesh.
Terrestrial is a far cry from their fuzzy stoner rock first phase, and their ongoing evolutionary leaps towards deep space have been given added dimension courtesy of Esoteric’s Greg Chandler, who, along with Clayton, engineered, mixed and mastered this their fourth full-length as well as its 2012 predecessor. Terrestrial – like a wealth of other albums out during this banner year for underground metal – should be fully absorbed, ideally in a dark room, uninterrupted, while pondering the infinite unknown above and beyond us.
