The world is ruled by speed. Speed which drives history forward in a state of ever-increasing acceleration. Such is the central claim of dromology; a theory of speed originated by French philosopher Paul Virilio (1932-2018).

It is on this premise that the new Danish-American metal band Terminalist base their conceptual universe. On their debut album, The Great Acceleration, they bring the dromological philosophy together with their own science fiction narratives as they describe a world in crisis and a planet in collapse being abandoned in favor of colonization of space.

Terminalist formed in 2018 and debuted a year later with the EP Abandon All Liberties, followed in 2020 by the single "Voyagers". The four-man band harken back to the traditional and technical thrash metal of the late 1980's, bringing it up to date by fusing it with black metal blast beats, death metal growls and grandiose prog rock concepts. The result is modern in its concoction, yet retro in its appeal; a style the band itself has dubbed hyperthrash.

Terminalist use the lens of dromology to describe the duality of technology and investigate Virilio’s thesis that the invention of the ship was also the invention of the shipwreck, continuing the thrash metal tradition of political criticism and pessimism about the future. Yet, Terminalist fit in among a new generation of metal bands using the genre’s monstrous sounds to illustrate the downfall of modern society in favor of something new and unknown. This is conveyed in a sound which is fast and aggressive, melodic and dynamic, catchy yet technical.


Source: Facebook