- Country: USA
- Style: Technical thrash metal / Progressive metal
- Label: Earache Records
- Release date: 6 May 2016
Every few years a thrash record comes along that makes the rest of the genre look lazy, and Terminal Redux is that record. Vektor took everything that made their earlier albums cult favourites, the Voivod angles, the blackened rasp, the endless riff changes, and stretched it across a full science-fiction concept: a castaway astronaut stumbles on a life-giving secret out in space and uses it to claw his way to power.
The ambition would be meaningless if the songs didn’t hold up, but they do. “Charging the Void” is a monster opener, switching from neck-snapping speed to spacey melodic passages before a choir of backing voices swells up near the end, and somehow it fits. “Cygnus Terminal” and “LCD (Liquid Crystal Disease)” are pure technical thrash, tight enough to make your head spin, while “Pteropticon” and “Ultimate Artificer” show off the sheer speed of the rhythm section.
David DiSanto’s shriek takes a bit of getting used to, and the album is long enough that some listeners will tap out before the end. That would be a mistake. “Pillars of Sand” has one of the best hooks on the record, and the closer “Recharging the Void” is an epic in the real sense of the word, building through melodic passages and choir-like vocals to a finale that feels earned. Demanding, exhausting, and brilliant.
Best tracks:
Charging the Void
Cygnus Terminal
LCD (Liquid Crystal Disease)
Pillars of Sand
Recharging the Void
Author’s rating: 9.3/10
Gave it 5 stars
No member has given this album 5 stars yet. Join WeMetalheads and rate it.
