Terminal Nation are a death metal band from the US and this is their second album.
Terminal Nation play hardcore-infused death metal, delivering 40 minutes of the stuff over 12 songs on this record. The promo blurb tells us that Echoes of the Devil’s Den is for fans of All Out War, Bolt Thrower, Earth Crisis, Maul, Xibalba, Kruelty, Fuming Mouth, and Gatecreeper, so this should give you a good idea of where Terminal Nation are coming from.
These songs are chunky and heavy. Built around crushing riffs and hideously organic growls and screams, (they’re strikingly more individual than most singers of bands like this), the music is designed to get you moving, and move you shall, or forever be moved whether you want to or not.
Rolling forward with the inevitability of a battle tank, you can hear the Bolt Thrower influence. This is fused with its love of heavy hardcore that’s infectious, (think bands like Merauder, Born from Pain, and Madball), an old-school Swedish death metal groove, and a crossover appeal that should have fans of Fuming Mouth very interested. A record like this is designed for the mosh pit and the gym. Yep, Echoes of the Devil’s Den is where it’s at.
Echoes of the Devil’s Den also takes in a range of different ideas that are strategically placed around the core belligerent heaviness, such as the use of keyboards, melodic accents, lighter shading, and guest singers, all aimed at enriching the brutality that Terminal Nation dish out with impunity. Of the guest vocals, these come from the singers of Nails, Killswitch Engage, (who gives a particularly notable performance), Sex Prisoner, Elysia, and Integrity.
Echoes of the Devil’s Den is enjoyable and satisfying. Most bands that combine death metal and hardcore usually overwhelmingly favour the former, but Terminal Nation strike a decent balance between both styles, ending up with songs that take strengths from both.
Boasting a destructive heaviness that has more personality than most, Echoes of the Devil’s Den hits hard. Giving a good account of itself upon first encounter, it only improves over time as its humongous grooves get under your skin.
Highly recommended.
Wonderbox Metal 