Terminus Episode 91 - Grand Belial’s Key, Algaion, Thos Ælla

TERMINUS: extreme metal podcast

IT'S HAPPENING! OH MY GOD IT'S FINALLY HAPPENING! Yeah, yeah, of course we were gonna cover it. But beyond the most obvious part of this show is a pair of excellent, highly melodic records which are equally worthy of your time. Case in point: the sophomore record of Thos Ælla, whose debut we covered on the show last year. The new record shows a supercharged version of the project, merging traditional melodic black/death with explosive power metal flourishes and guitar pyrotechnics. Talk about expansion on the ideal- this puts the project firmly on the map for all our listeners.

AND HERE IT IS. 17 years in the making, Kohanic Charmers has arrived to announce the return of hooligan black metal legends Grand Belial's Key. For those feeling trepidation over the job history gap, fear not: this is a powerful entry in the band's discography. Leaning toward the direct and compact disdain of Judeobeast Assassination, the new record combines a surprisingly understated delivery with mature, inventive songwriting. The quiet period of the last decade and a half has only sharpened their legendary musicality and scorn. Absolutely mandatory.

Finally, a powerful taboo is broken: we're covering a reissue! This time it's from Algaion, a fairly obscure Swedish project from the latter years of the second wave who make minimal yet elaborately melodic black metal that sounds like it could be released TODAY. This is part review and part history lesson as your hosts try to wrap their brains around the idea that this was recorded in the waning days of '94. All that being said, this is brilliant and provides an entirely new perspective on where the modern sounds today may have began.
0:00:00 - Intro/Thos Ælla - Sempiternal Mobocracies (I, Voidhanger Records)

0:19:22 - Grand Belial’s Key - Kohanic Charmers (Weltenfeind)

1:04:56 - Interlude - Toil - “Obscure Chasms” fr. Obscure Chasms (Grievantee Productions, 2007) (Long out of print but seemingly still available from underground shops)

1:08:00 - Algaion - Oimai Algeiou (reissue on Regain Records)

1:47:18 - Outro - Octinomos - “The Ground Shall Sorrow Be” fr. Octinomos (Infortunium Records, 1995) (Seems to be out of print- also search for On the Demiurge, essentially the same record.)
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