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Terra Tenebrosa - The Tunnels review



Reviewer:
N/A

79 users:
8.19
Band: Terra Tenebrosa
Album: The Tunnels
Release date: March 2011


01. The Teranbos Prayer
02. Probing The Abyss
03. The Mourning Stars
04. The Arc Of Descent
05. Guiding The Mist / Terraforming
06. Through The Eyes Of The Maninkari
07. The Tunnels

Booo! Hey, scared you, didn't I? Surely you just witnessed the pinnacle of terror. Well, be prepared - we're going on an adventure! A spooooky adventure ~

Terra Tenebrosa plays a type of post-metal you sadly see nothing of these days (or ever, really, with an exception we'll look into shortly): very synth-heavy, buried and layered vocal passages, pounding, hypnotizing drums, the odd spoken word, and monotone sludge riffs. If that sounds familiar to you, then you're right: we've got an album that builds on the legacy of Enemy Of The Sun by the mighty Neurosis themselves. Terra Tenebrosa, however, mostly slow it way down (both riffs and drums), reduce the number of riffs and up the number of synths, add vocal effects, and dump an entire package of Blut Aus Nord-ketchup onto the whole thing.

The result is an eerie, mesmerizing, and intriguing version of post-metal. Sometimes we have the infernal riffs mid-era Amenra uses (compare "The Arc Of Descent" to "Am Kreuz"), sometimes we get techniques popularized in black metal and funeral doom (the "low power chord base overlaid with mid-range melody giving a creepy effect" we see on classics like Burzum's "Dunkelheit" or Disembowelment's "Excoriate" that have become a mainstay in their respective genres) on songs like "Through The Eyes Of The Maninkari" or "Probing The Abyss", sometimes Blut Aus Nord-style monotone riffing with a synth buildup ("The Mourning Stars", "Guiding The Mist/Terraforming").

And that's exactly what makes this album so great: it's intriguing. The fact that you can barely make out vocals at times and the atmosphere the compositions create make you want to know more. "Wait, what was that passage just now?" Pair that with the amazingly mysterious cover art, the band member names, and some back story on the whole thing, as well as sentences like "The human race shall evolve" ("The Teranbos Prayer") and repeated listens are a must. By that time, the catchy-as-fuck riffs are also stuck in your head. Probably the slow - sometimes Neurosis-style tribal, sometimes Blut Aus Nord-style artificial - drums as well.

This leads to the main takeaway here: The illusion of depth and the curiosity that builds up inside you are worth far more than any actual real experience you might have. Don't read interviews for this band, don't research stuff. And most importantly: don't watch music videos. It'll spoil the fun. What you come up with in your own head will always appeal to you more than what is actually there. Especially when talking about records like this, which are made for this kind of response.

Oh, and maybe don't listen to this stuff when you're out in the woods at night taking a walk with the dog. Or do, I'm not your boss.

Written by Desha | 03.08.2018




Guest review disclaimer:
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.


Comments

Comments: 3   Visited by: 31 users
10.10.2018 - 16:36
VIG
Account deleted
Great review, actually didn't know you wrote this until today when I went to the album on here. I like how you compare it to other bands and how they "dump an entire package of Blut Aus Nord-ketchup onto the whole thing". The album is pretty great, it's like dissonant black metal and post-metal, it's very strange, but enjoyable.
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11.10.2018 - 12:26
Desha
delicious dish
Written by Guest on 10.10.2018 at 16:36

Great review, actually didn't know you wrote this until today when I went to the album on here. I like how you compare it to other bands and how they "dump an entire package of Blut Aus Nord-ketchup onto the whole thing". The album is pretty great, it's like dissonant black metal and post-metal, it's very strange, but enjoyable.

In the end I'm not too proud of this one, but I don't like any of my reviews so w/e.

And yeah the band is pretty unique in their mix of styles. I would die to hear more like this.
----
You are the hammer, I am the nail
building a house in the fire on the hill
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27.11.2018 - 18:48
Auntie Sahar
Drone Empress
Pretty good and accurate review man, can't imagine what you find wrong with it. Put down the bat, the self is the worst critic!
I particularly like the line you draw here to classic Neurosis and Amenra. That's never something that really came into head when listening to Terra Tenebrosa previously, but really thinking about it now I think you do indeed have a point. Part of the fun of the band though is really not knowing where the line is drawn between external influence and ideas genuinely their own. They veil the two well.
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I am the Magician and the Exorcist. I am the axle of the wheel, and the cube in the circle. “Come unto me” is a foolish word: for it is I that go.

~ II. VII
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