Terraphobia - Evilution

This album doesn't waste a lot of time getting into things. Aside from some intro wind and a little bit of guitaring that travels by itself for a short while, this album straight after launches into fast aggressive syncopated music. Fast drums, fast guitars and drums letting us know that this is a release that doesn't let up for any of it's listeners. And it's not just chunky thrash throwing us some macho metal that's fast without anything else to it's name. There's some great atmosphere that lies behind this music. Don't get me wrong, there's lots of chunky hooks and catchy riffs that fill out all of this release. But behind all of that there's guitar lead that travels through the music. Making sure that you're not just left with a face smash of brutality. You're left with a good dose of harmonies, vocals of pure wrath and some good ol' solos fast enough make sure that you're swimming in sound. There's even sections in some songs where it slows down a little, making sure you have a more appropriate speed for throwing your hair around while you hold your horns up high. This does however, come at a cost. By the third song I found myself checking to make sure it wasn't repeating one of the songs. All the sound is the same tones. Same distortion levels. Same vocal style. Although there were actually a few surprises thrown in. Fallen Hero was the first to break free from the same sound by having a melodic and slowed down middle section that was more soft than anything else.

The Unforgotten was the next song to introduce a new sound to the release. This song was more of a heavy ballad. Starting off slow and quiet, growing heavier all the time while still keeping to the same tempo. Also the vocals weren't as aggressive, allowing you to soak up more of the song's mood. And I'm not saying that every other single song sounds the same, no they don't. If you listen to each song you can hear the difference. What I am trying to say is each song sounds similar. It's much of a muchness to be honest. A good muchness. You can enjoy each song individually and quite a lot too. And thanks to the couple of differences this release was truly an epic release of ferocity leaving the entire album to finish with a slam. To be honest that's all that can really be said about the music in detail. Layered, fast, atmospheric, heavy thrash. Good. But not all in one sitting.

The artwork is entirely death/thrash influenced. With it's block text logo and skull over texture front design. All of the artwork is set in the same colours. Brown on orange, on brown on orange. Inside of the booklet you've got some sepia photos. One of a graveyard, and one of the musician himself, Michael Jelinic in a leather coat looking tough as nuts. The lyric pages each have their own pictures, each according to the theme of the song. Golgotha has the crucifix and a crown of thorns, Fallen Hero has an m60 machine gun and a skull wearing a military helmet.

You get the idea. I guess in this case the artwork firmly resembles the music itself. A lot of the same with some differences thrown in just enough to make it different.

Overall, I did really enjoy the release. The songs are extremely enjoyable, with good composition, audio quality and tight musicianship. However I wouldn't listen to the entire CD in one shot again, but would rather space it out piece by piece.