Danish-American hyperthrash metal band Terminalist has announced its second album, The Crisis As Condition, is set for a September 8th release through Indisciplinarian. To accompany the announcement, the album’s first single and title track has been issued alongside a video, which can be seen below.
On The Crisis As Condition, the optimism of earlier times and faith in progress have been replaced by a bleak and pessimistic realism. Transformation turns to turmoil; the state of emergency is the new normal. Where Terminalist’s 2021 debut album, The Great Acceleration, was a commentary on the (future) space race and the inherently destructive side of technology, The Crisis As Condition is a simultaneously detached and impassioned look at the present. Science fiction fantasies have been shelved in favor of a fierce analysis and castigation of contemporary crisis-ridden society. This is expressed through hard-hitting and dynamic music rich in detail that has its basis in thrash metal, but which draws parallels to progressive metal and black metal with its intricate rhythms and ambitious songwriting.
Just as on their debut album, Terminalist has teamed up with producer Lasse Ballade. The Crisis As Condition was recorded and mixed at Ballade Studios in Copenhagen and mastered by V. Santura (Triptykon, Dark Fortress) at Woodshed Studios in Germany. British painter Ryan T. Hancock is once again responsible for the unique artwork, and photography is handled by Theis Wilmer Poulsen.
Singer, guitarist, and lyricist Emil Hansen states, “Wherever we look, our modern world is entangled in crises. Whether it’s the energy crisis, the inflation crisis, the corona crisis, the war in Ukraine, deepening political polarization, or the overarching climate crisis, things seem to be headed for the worst. The crisis is no longer a phase in passing or a simple challenge to overcome, it’s become a permanent condition. On this song as well as on the upcoming album where this serves as the title track, this theme is explored and expanded further. The future is not what it used to be."
It is this weighty and complex theme that Terminalist takes up on The Crisis As Condition. Rooted in 1980s technical thrash metal, they update the socio-political criticism known from the genre's heyday in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s—a time that was also characterized by political upheaval yet marked by a belief in better times ahead.
The Crisis As Condition will be released September 8th on LP – gatefold with 100 on Orange Vinyl and 300 on Black Vinyl – as well as CD, CS, and digital formats via Indisciplinarian. Physical formats can now be pre-ordered now at the label webshop.
Tracklisting:
"Life Won’t Last"
"The Crisis As Condition"
"A Future To Weave"
"Last Remains"
"Frenetic Standstill"
"Mutating Fractures"
"Move In Strife"
(Photo by Theis Wilmer Poulsen)
