TERRA BUILDER “Solar Temple”
By Dr. Abner Mality
The Transcending Obscurity label has a knack for finding really heavy bands that otherwise would be unknown. The latest is German bulldozer TERRA BUILDER, who could knock over a city block with their ponderous brand of grinding death. This is one of those records that can be summed up in one word: HEAVY.
It’s an unusual but bludgeoning mix of lumbering crush like slower ASPHYX and BOLT THROWER with all out grind in a ROTTEN SOUND kind of way. Add to that mix a cold mechanical feel that’s almost industrial, with traces of GODFLESH, the earliest FEAR FACTORY and even a bit of MESHUGGAH mathcore. That’s the TERRA BUILDER formula and it works pretty well. The slower bits are just massive and the fast bits inject needed energy to keep this from being called doom-death. It’s not wholly original yet altogether, it manages to have its own sound.
The record is solid all the way around, but the title track is especially devastating, showing how the band can mix all its aspects into one compact track. “Constant Cosmic Failure” is the most overtly death metal cut while “Dead Celestial” is the grindiest. As you can tell, the band has a dystopian sci fi side to it as well. Another band to flatten your dreams and crack your skull open…