All That Will Burn Is Already On Fire
All That Will Burn Is Already On Fire
All That Will Burn Is Already On Fire is the debut album from Sheffield’s Terminal Sun – an overpowering, all consuming vision of the end. ‘Catastrophic Error’ beckons us forward into the darkness with newsreel reports of the Chernobyl disaster and an underlying sense of foreboding and menace, a growing unease that then detonates, reforming itself into the thick, muscular riffs of ‘AZ5’ - a mechanistic march with a seething, scalding core of organic matter; man and machine in imperfect, broken dissonance. The passages of fierce and fiery energy, the staggering, lurching, unnatural riffs and the shocking solos that dance across their armour plated surfaces are immediately impressive, towering presences…but All That Will Burn… has many different elements, unsuspected angles and hidden hollows of dreaming quicksand. This darkness is deeper than you think. These surprising shadows are not only found in the obvious alternatives of the lonely melodies of ‘Macready’s Last Stand’ or the haunting atmospheres of ‘The Spirit Of Dark And Lonely Water Pt.1’; they also lurk within the morose mutations of ‘Metamorph’ and in the tribal hymn to an incinerated past and non-existent future that eats at the heart of ‘All That Will Burn Is Already On Fire’. Indeed, every passage in this tale of waste and error possesses more than you might first imagine – all concluding in the staggering, epic collision of death, doom and black metals that is ‘The Space Between Two Deaths’ – a magnificent summation of this final journey into the night.Adorned in the dramatic photography of Jakob Vegerfors, All That Will Burn Is Already On Fire will be released on July 6th, bringing a new, enthralling shade of blackness to the extreme metal world – fusing sub-genres to construct a monstrous monolith to mankind’s folly. Building upon the fetid foundations laid down by preceding EPs, Threads and Metamorph, this powerful and prophetic album heralds the unremitting darkness that once fallen will never end. Prepare to stare into the dying light of the Terminal Sun.
Review from Games, Brains and a Headbanging life. 3/7/24 Carl Fisher
Forged with passion, grit and determination, ‘All That Will Burn Is Already on Fire’ is the debut album from Sheffield’s Terminal Sun – an overpowering, all-consuming vision of the end. It arrives on July 6th, 2024.
Sinister and synthy, the intro of Catastrophic Error sets the horror-laden scene for this album well, especially as the recorded news voice speaks of the infamous Chernobyl disaster. It builds expectation, it builds excitement, and it builds intrigue. Something well and truly paid off with the thick and sinewy heaviness of the following AZ5. There’s a fascinating industrialisation to this track, Terminal Sun delivering a scathingly heavy piece of blackened death-infused dissonance.
It’s a high bar set early on, but this band is more than capable of surpassing it time and time again. First, with the grim and bleak intensity of The Liquidators (and the Liquidation of the Consequences of the Chernobyl Accident). Then, with the desperate and savage sound of Metamorph, Terminal Sun showcasing lurching riffs, menacing groove, and visceral vocals. That this track is over ten minutes long is startling, but there’s no wasted seconds here. The latter section’s egregious use of 80s style synth is fabulous, and it makes the track all the more interesting.
It’s these tone shifts that makes this album even more compelling and why a track like Macready’s Last Stand and its lonely melodies works. Especially as there’s a consistent underlying darkness that continues into the cacophony of blackened noise that is the title track. If you’re looking for one track to head bang to, this is likely going to be it. Especially as following this absolute beast, there’s a two-parter called The Spirit of Dark and Lonely Water. Part I (Narrative) being quite morse and atmospheric, and Part II being a thrilling slice of heavy mania that doesn’t mess around as far as intensity goes.
The level of thought and care that has gone into making this album feel so big, come across so dark, and be so addictive is immeasurable impressive. So much so, that the end just sort of sneaks up on you, and suddenly you’re banging your head to the groovy riffs of Fragments, letting the ambient melodies and emphatic synth of Parallels wash over you, before experiencing the cacophonous level of genre-blending that is The Space Between Two Deaths. A finale of epic and heavy proportions, and the exclamation mark on an incredible release.
Terminal Sun have more than delivered on their debut album. 9/10