Title: Terminatryx
Artist: Terminatryx
Genre: Electronic / Rock
Release Date: May 2008
Label: ENT Entertainment
Album Review
South Africa seems to harbour a lot more surprises than we thought. Lately it was ACRETONGUE; and now it’s TERMINATRYX, established in 2002 by Sonja Ruppersberg and Paul Blom in an effort to create a very unique blend of industrial and Rock. Following years have been spent with the cultivation of the sound and the first live shows in 2003 as support for DIARY OF DREAMS on their South African tour and did some live soundtrack performances for the silent films ‘Nosferatu’ and ‘The Cabinet of Dr.Caligari’ 2008 finally saw the release of the self-titled debut…
…which begins with an instrumental intro called ‘Venus Rising’ comprising cold machine beats and chopped guitar riffs until ‘CONsume’ (spelling is correct) - a song about how much influence the media has on society, underling its message with quite understated beats, but with nice guitar sections. This is also the first time singer Sonja appears on the scenery and she’s got a very convertible voice reaching from harder decisive parts to more emotive parts. When ‘Virus>://v_ir-US’ starts you hear the sound of an old analogue modem, followed by a wave-esque bass section leading into a hard-hitting chorus section kicking you right in your stomach. In the further course the song alternates between calmer and aggressive parts. But f you think this already was the end of the line regarding harshness then check out ‘Midnight’ and ‘Tabloid Android’ both surpassing each other in that discipline, while it’s especially the latter on that’ll really keep you going with a strike of fast staccato beats and guitar walls while, Sonja’s trenchant vocals propel you even more. Time now for a little electronic gadgetry with the second instrumental ‘Symbionic’ conjuring dark worlds of sounds and complementing it with playful electronic rhythms.
‘We come in Peace’ is the first one on the album you really can call down-tempo any of the power we came to know with the previous tracks while placing a strong emphasis on creating a sinister mood and you might call me nuts, but these whistling melody in the song reminded me a lot of with extraterrestrials. Right afterwards follows the other side of the medal with ‘Up to You’ displaying an unbelievable rage finding its expression in a track you could almost call Speed Metal. A paradise bird among the album tracks (textual-wise) surely is ‘Siek+Sat’ performed in Afrikaans, a language, mainly spoken in South Africa, descending from the Dutch language. The English translation of the song title is ‘Sick+Tired’. Eclectic rhythms enriched with the typical powerful guitar work and classic piano instrumentation come together and create an exciting and stirring melange. ‘Absinthum’ sets an ethereal counterpart with Armenian and Indian instrumentation top of a soundscape made of majestic strings and choirs and ends an album that has the potential to become something bigger…
Tracklist
01 Venus Rising – 2:17
02. CONsume – 4:53
03. Virus>://v_ir-US< - 4:06
04. Midnight – 3:32
05. Sleepwalkers – 3:15
06. Tabloid Android – 3:19
07. Symbionik – 2:38
08. We come in Peace – 3:43
09. Up to you – 2:58
10. The Love Song – 3:52
11. Siek+Sat – 3:53
12. Absinthum – 2:29
Line-up
Sonja Ruppersberg - Vocals
Paul Blom – Music, Production, Backing Vocals
Website
http://www.terminatryx.com / http://www.myspace.com/terminatryxxx
Cover Picture
Rating
Music: 8
Sound: 8
Extras: -
Total: 8
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