Premiere: Nattmaran x Terror Cross – Rise of The Nightmare Terror
Make like a British billpocket, and get yourself pounded something proper. Dungeon style. Kidding, never do anything like the British. But do stay for the scuzzy metal, now that you’re here.
Long time readers might recall the international group Nattmaran from our premiere of their “Beauty In Chaos”. They’re returning to us now, in our hour of need, with a new drummer, and an old style. Breathing still deeper of that pit in which thrash, speed and early days black metal breed copiously and conspicuously. The new drummer, Ekay, has brought with him a less bluntly pounding style, instead focusing on rolling—the way something heavy with treads might roll over your feet, but rolling all the same, while vocalist Beges’ wails are perhaps even more unhinged.
While Nattmaran exhibit some symptoms of classic heavy metal in their guitar work, the closing cover of Bathory‘s “Conspiracy with Satan” and Hellripper‘s James McBain’s appearance on opener “Savage Urges’ ” keep the eyes fixed on Nattmaran’s road. They may be a wind (they call the dungeon shaker) from times when lines were drawn on water more often. But they know exactly what they want, allow for no diversions, and do it well.
“Nattmaran and Terror Cross are on a course to set the record straight, eradicate the posers and rip your skulls off. Thrash and speed metal straight from the dungeons of the 80s. Fast, hard and abrasive. The way it’s supposed to sound.”– Michael Lang / Nattmaran
What Nattmaran may have lost in blunt pounding, their Finnish compatriots in Terror Cross make doubly up for. Though their influences are drawn from the same deck, the thrash-edge is slightly decreased in favour of pronounced blackened and heavy metal influences.
The maniacal wailing and jagged riffs of the Sveko-Indonesian collaboration are countered with reverb drenched grunting, satano-sexual scuzz and the blunt force trauma of chest-pumping, brow-beating heavy metal, and as a cherry-glistening-of-God-knows-what on top of the greasy cake Terror Cross close their half with a cover of Manowar‘s “Gloves of Metal”, leaving me with only one complaint. Why is it not in Finnish?
“When Nattmaran asked us to join forces for evil we did not hesitate! We immediatelly started summoning demons using sexual satanic rites channeled through heavy fucking distortion that will dissolve posers immediately! This split is so evil that every time you play it a priest will fucking die!!! PLAY IT LOUD AS FUCK!!!”– Terror Cross
