Terra Builder has come to life.
Formed in Germany by Tobias Buck (guitar/vocals, Neaera), Ben Guddorf (guitar, ex-Steel Death), Lutz Lambert (bass, ex-Neorite), Yannick Bussweiler (drums, Ferndal) and Rene Wichmann (vocals, ex-I The Unlord), the band signed to Transcending Obscurity Records for the release of Solar Temple, their debut album.
The band kicks off with End of Orbit, an abrasive opening track that lays the foundations for a heavy Death/Grind sound, complemented by massive screams and numerous lively accelerations that punctuate the apocalyptic sound. The band doesn’t hold back in flooding us with waves of aggression, letting sharp leads bring a bloody relief before Interplanetary Portal places screaming harmonics in its unstoppable and extremely saturated charge. The band also employs a suffocating atmosphere in addition to savage riffs, sometimes laden with hypnotic tapping parts, which give way to Constant Cosmic Failure and its haunting sounds in the background, creating a very dark contrast. The jerky patterns also add a chaotic touch that blends in very well, as on Abyss and its irregular riffs populated by frightening ghostly screams. The frantic riffs once again perfectly convey the atmosphere the band constantly feeds, and which slows down very slightly on Solar Temple to become crushing and excessively heavy between two eruptions of rage, which the guitarists complete with dissonant spikes. The sound stops, but immediately picks up again with Dead Celestial, a devastating composition in which the instruments are launched at full speed, letting ominous leads darken once again the atmosphere with their pessimistic tones, which the band also weigh down on Total Overcome, while keeping an extremely anguished part before the final explosion. The band gives us a brief moment of hesitation, but Carbon Based Misery brings it to an end with a devastating blast, massive riffs and the usual vociferations that always fit in well with the sonic cataclysm, then Cryogenic Sleep lets the musicians run riot one last time, whether at full speed with their cutting riffs or in heaviness with heavier elements.
Solar Temple isn’t an album for beginners, and Terra Builder knows it, injecting ever more saturation, raw power and heavy sounds into an album that could perfectly sit next to the word « apocalypse » in the dictionary.
85/100