Band : Terrathorn
Album title : Acquire Dominate Destroy
Label : Casket Music - Copro
Distributor : PHD - Bertus
Release date : 28/09/2009
Release : CD

This Southampton based British Thrash Metal (according to the biography, the band has drawn strongly from such Thrash Metal titans as Pantera, Metallica, and Sepultura and created their own brand of Thrash through the addition of a touch of Hardcore, inspired into this by newer generation bands in the scene such as Killswitch Engage, Lamb Of God, and Municipal Waste) outfit was formed in the Summer of 2005, when drummer Matt Brooks and guitarists Dan Nun (rhythmics) and Joe Freeborn (leads) started jamming on the weekend to kill some time.

With Southampton at that time completely devoid of Metal acts (well, so-called, because I’ve just come across this interesting Occult Horror Doom metal act called Moss, which operates from that same city since 2001, having released 5 demoes, at least two full-lengths, 4 EPs, and a total of 5 split releases – on several labels, but the last releases were through Rise Above) the jamming threesome soon became noted in the city, and after more rehearsals with a complete line-up (attained by the addition of lead singer James Hayball and bassist Dan Hanfort, the latter replacing original bassist Adam during Summer 2006) they began making a name for themselves, eventually opening local shows for the likes of Municipal Waste, 3 Inches Of Blood and SSS when they began drawing larger local crowds.

To date, they’ve criss-crossed the UK in support of Soulfly and Black Tide, played slots at the Bloodstock Festival and Bulldog Bash events, and they’re soon starting the conquest of Europe with a tour across Germany and France (should be started around the time this is posted). Musicaly classifiable as a Hardcore tingued Thrash Metal, their singer is a Phil Alselmo soundalike, should Pantera have been geared towards Hardcore a little more. The trouble with Terrathorn is that their driven compositions come like 13 in a dozen, and well…we’ve heard it all before, haven’t we (on top, the lead guitarist occasionally pulls out some truly yawn-inspiring solos)! Entertaining enough, but hardly a band to go see as a headliner. Give ‘em a couple of years to mature in songwriting skills though! Check it out at myspace.com/terrathornlive, where the band posted 4 tracks from a 2007 Live At The Joiners recording (“Jane” and “Unit” also featuring on this 8-track, 32-minute studio album).

80/100

Tony.