Terravoid: Ectogenesis

This EP takes up the familiar theme of technology taking over humanity and the ways nature reasserts itself in the wake of our collective demise. Most of us have read or watched narratives like this, but I wouldn’t dismiss this release as just another familiar dystopian nightmare populated by teenaged saviors or sneering old men. Instead, the band is deeply interested in capturing the subjective experience of what happens to our sense of identity or purpose when everything is lost. You won’t catch it all by listening to the EP all by itself, which is why I recommend checking out the lyrics on Terravoid’s Bandcamp page. If you go there, you’ll see that the band is developing a rather intense narrative about technology, cloning, perception, and starting over. Sure, it’s all pretty familiar, but it also works pretty well.

If you haven’t heard of Terravoid, they are a relatively new band made up of two main people: Oliver Palmquist (vocals, Phidion) and Nino Vukovik (guitar, Immaculate and Tyranex). The music is best described as dark progressive metal and it should definitely appeal to fans of Nevermore, Strapping Young Lad, and other bands like them. Terravoid also acknowledges John Carpenter as a major influence, and you can definitely hear that throughout this release.

Even though this EP had a limited release on cassette, it can be found on digital platforms easily enough. I listened to it at least three times before writing this, and I liked what I heard more and more each time. The album’s biggest strength (and weakness) is that it’s a fairly dense project with lots of moving parts. I appreciated the whole thing more after going through the lyrics, but I thought songs like “Ectogenesis� and “Reaching the Unexplored� were strong even with my first, more casual, listen.

It will be interesting to see what else Terravoid might do in the future. I’d especially like to hear them work out more of their Carpenter / movie soundtrack interests. There are several bands working with Carpenter’s influence right now and the possibilities seem endless.

Track Listing:
1. Through Dead Eyes
2. Ectogenesis
3. Reaching the Unexplored
4. Error Endeavors

Added: July 2nd 2021
Reviewer: Carl Sederholm
Score:
Related Link: Bandcamp Page
Hits: 1113
Language: english

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