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Terminal Fuzz Terror Stream “Megalodon” from Vol. 0: In the Shadow of the Mountain

Posted in audiObelisk on February 16th, 2015 by JJ Koczan

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Named for its 17-minute closing track, Vol. 0: In the Shadow of the Mountain is the debut full-length from Seattle experimental heavy rockers Terminal Fuzz Terror, set to release limited-style on Robotic Empire March 3. It is an off-the-wall freakout beast that hearkens to multiple eras — ’60s psych meandering, ’70s riffing, ’90s purposeful weirdness, etc. — and in so doing is invariably of the modern moment: what navelgazing might be if you did it into other people’s bellybuttons; a broken mirror showing different angles of an already fractured reality. Plus it grooves!

Opener “Senseless Boogie” would seem to tell the whole tale, but in truth it’s only part of the story, and whether it’s the funtime freakout of “Zealousy” or the psych-punk thrust of centerpiece “Megalodon,” the four-piece of guitarist/vocalists D. Rodriguez and D. Nelson, bassist J. Kleine and drummer A. Crawshaw hone a chaotic swirl that feels like it could at any point fly off the handle entirely. Likewise the repeated echoing incantations of “Cycles,” which seems to call Satan not so much to spread misery and hellishness over terminal fuzz terror vol. 0 in the shadow of the mountainthe earth, but rather to crack a beer and mess around with effects pedals, and of course “In the Shadow of the Mountain,” the monolithic semi-title-track is a focal point — at just a little less than half the 36-minute runtime, there’s no way it wouldn’t be — but rather than get lost in their own grandiosity, Terminal Fuzz Terror turn plod into ritual before warping into one last high-speed wah-drenched jam, paying off what’s come before, sure, but also breathing life into a form of space rock that’s more than Hawkwind idolatry and flange overload.

If you feel like you can dig it, you’re probably right. “Megalodon” is available for streaming on the player below, and by way of a heads up, look out for near-immediate push, obscure garage-echo vocals and weirdo breaks, a biting tonal mania rife with unhinged churn that cleverly masks just how structured the song actually is. Terminal Fuzz Terror are hardly traditional in the verse/chorus sense, but there are themes to latch onto throughout Vol. 0: In the Shadow of the Mountain, and “Megalodon” works quickly to establish its own amid the cosmic reverb captured by Tad Doyle at his Studio Witch Ape and mastered by James Plotkin.

One more time, vinyl is out March 3 in finite quantities. Album info follows the player:

Terminal Fuzz Terror is a Seattle-based band comprised of D. Rodriguez (guitar, vocals), D. Nelson (guitar, vocals), A. Crawshaw (drums) and J. Kleine (bass). Drummer Crawshaw also runs the Seattle based screen printing monolith Broken Press, who printed the jacket for TFT’s hand assembled, limited release. Their vinyl debut, Vol 0: In The Shadow Of The Mountain, was recorded at Witch Ape Studio, engineered and mixed by Tad Doyle (TAD) and mastered by James Plotkin.

Limited to 300 copies and including a high-quality digital download, 50 special deluxe versions of the record will include an embroidered 4″ round patch and come packaged in a tote bag.

Vol 0: In The Shadow Of The Mountain is Terminal Fuzz Terror’s strongest work to date, and is available digitally to pre-order now, with vinyl available via Robotic Empire on March 3rd.

Preorder at Robotic Empire

Preorder on iTunes

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Terminal Fuzz Terror on Bandcamp

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