As winter hurtles headlong into slushy spring, and the collective ABV of the northern hemisphere rises a couple points, we return with Terminus 41. This time, we've got another uniformly strong lineup, all black metal, with two very typical picks from each of us. Prepare yourselves for Total Termination.

The Black Metal Guy leads off with the long-awaited return of Frisia's Kjeld, whose 2015 record Skym channeled the fearsome melodies of 90s Norway into a modern, blasting frontal assault. After that, the Second Wave revival took off, and other bands got all the credit. Now, the masters return to claim their throne with Ôfstân ("Distance"), where ice-cold essence shades into beautiful maritime light. (For more on the Dutch scene, we've also just uploaded an interview with Arjan from Heidens Hart Records, who put this one out.)

The TBMG bloc continues with Szary Wilk, a well-chosen fan request that frankly floors both your hosts. This Polish band likes werewolves and they like the 90s Polish scene, but they've forged a wide-ranging and original modern sound. If you like elegant songwriting and big, dumb heavy metal Conan riffs - in other words, if you listen to this show - you'll love it.

The Death Metal Guy segues into the second half with a forgotten Polish classic, then hits us with a double-barreled blast of Gallic despair and paranoia, courtesy of Suicide Circle. You may be familiar with the vocalist / bassist, Meyhna’ch - he played in some old French band. Here, he's found two ideal collaborators, and together they've cranked out a record that stands alongside his earlier material. This is hostile, gritty, urban stuff, made for a world in restless quarantine. Not for vampyres.

And at last, TMDG brings our death spiral home with the grinding mecha-warblack of Persian band Lavizan Jangal. Here, we delve into an esoteric interpretation of Darkthrone, and wander shell-shocked through desolate post-industrial soundscapes. We've heard that L.J. has some ties to Trivax, a British band originally from Iran, whose new single we featured on the news segment of T38.

0:00 - Introductory bullshitting / Terminus News ft. Serpent Dweller 

25:00 - Kjeld - Ôfstân (Heidens Hart)

1:12:34 - Szary Wilk - Wrath (Putrid Cult)

2:00:38 - Interlude - Plaga - "Slaying The Spiritless Abel," fr. Magia Gwiezdnej Entropii (Societas Oculorum Arcanorum, 2013)

2:09:00 - Suicide Circle - Shotgun Prayers (Osmose)

2:52:14 - Lavizan Jangal - تاریکی و مرگ  or "Darkness and Death"

(Careless Records)

3:26:46 - Endvra - "The Devils Stars Burn Cold," fr. Black Eden (Red Stream, 1996). Out of print and not on Bandcamp, but all of Christopher Walton's releases as Tenhornedbeast are available from Cold Spring.

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thetrueterminus@gmail.com