End Terrain by LOCRIAN

Experimental metal trio LOCRIAN are a prophetic voice of decline and a pioneering force in the world of metal. LOCRIAN’s sonic tapestry weaves elements of black metal, ambient, and experimental music, creating a genre-defying experience that pushes the boundaries of conventional metal norms. Their new album “End Terrain” set for release on April 05, is the proper follow-up to 2015’s “Infinite Dissolution” (Relapse Records) and continues in the vein of LOCRIAN’s distinguishable sonic blueprint brought forth from said release along with such albums as the Relapse Records released “Return To Annihilation” and “The Clearing/The Final Epoch”. 2022 saw the return of LOCRIAN making their return on their Profound Lore debut “New Catastrophism” which saw the trio explore and return back to the more experimental side of their roots.

“End Terrain” is the group’s most direct and concise work to date. More complex and layered than anything in the prolific trio’s catalog, “End Terrain” is a concept album exposing a vision of a future earth consumed by waste. An apocalyptic landscape, inhabited by a generation who despise their parentage and a dying breed fully aware of the wasteland they have left. Mountains of trash and an uninhabitable planet, endless and dead. End Terrain is about inertia and regret, about the future and a mirror to the present, about mourning and extinction.

A seamless and harrowing blend of experimental, post-rock, and post-metal, “End Terrain” is the perfect manifestation of modern, forward-thinking experimental music pushed to a maximalist conclusion.

In the ever-evolving realm of extreme music, LOCRIAN stands as a testament to the power of artistic exploration. Their geographical spread mirrors the expansive sonic landscapes they traverse, cementing their status as trailblazers in the avant-garde metal scene.

"Locrian are a many-tendriled beast. The formerly Chicago-based trio, having released a myriad of albums ranging from abstract guitar noise to krautrock-and-drone-informed metal, are poised to release their first "song-based" album since 2015's Infinite Dissolution (compared to 2022's New Catastrophism–an improvisation-guided, full-band drone and noise album). End Terrain is a high-concept, intense album, telling a very personal story of a dystopian future told through the eyes of a parent.

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Press Excerpts:

""A strong contender for Album of the Year? In April? A sublime record

Just occasionally an album drops into the review tray that literally takes your breath away; the shattering power of hopelessly bleak Post Metal, the euphoria of Shoegaze/Metalgaze, the pervasive and oppressive atmosphere of screamed Black metal. “End Terrain” has that feeling of an album that won’t just be well received and acclaimed; it has the feeling of an album that will have a following. The opening three tracks “Chronoscapes”, “Utopias” and the Drone interlude of “Umwelt” form both an introduction and modus operandi for the 41 minutes of sheer otherworldly catharsis you will receive. Your life will be measurably better for listening to it."
--James L. Turner (https://metal-digest.com/2024/04/15/locrian-end-terrain/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR2sjqpPSOMTORHkeTfSUMxOfQrYtylokQj_Tr0mKDhvRBdIu1ATCeewaVc_aem_ATLCL7dvyhOgFnlsy8ZXauFuPue9WoI6IgFStFnwjEVAetbVZBetutMuhuS29TJdjDkD7-lL0-b0Fuqj0oBqa9Jl)



"Pairing their immense musicianship–some of vocalist/synthesist Terence Hannum's, guitarist André Foisy's, and drummer/electronics performer Steven Hess' most ambitious performances to date–with a book of art, stories, and even a bibliography (of invented future texts, very cool), End Terrain takes from each Locrian era. With influences dating back to Hannum and Foisy's days as a duo (over fifteen years ago now, wow) and through their vast discography as a trio with Hess, End Terrain is a cumulation of ideas, sounds, and a decade-plus of camaraderie as now-displaced experimental musicians. The explosive album opener, "Chronoscapes," leads End Terrain on an intense footing, with large riffs and expansive soundscapes carefully pieced together to craft something larger than life. When paired with an intense video, which can be viewed below, we join the Seer as they remotely view a horrific future of humanoid creatures destroying, well, everything."
--Jon Rosenthal, Invisible Oranges (https://www.invisibleoranges.com/locrian-chronoscapes-video/)

"Locrian. A name that should ring like thunder in the ears of everyone who loves unconventional, “uncategorizable” music. There are elements of Shoegaze, Synthwave, Noise, Death Metal, Industrial, Post-Punk and loads more to be found on their newest record End Terrain which to many might be their opus magnum, including yours truly....When you are then able to incorporate these aspects into one coherent sound that you have achieved something bigger than the sum of all these parts. Then you, in a certain way, are a genre unto yourself. Locrian surely is. End Terrain is not the end but hopefully the beginning of the next chapter in their voyage into their own sound."
--Thorsten Schaeben, Veil of Sound
(https://veilofsound.com/2024/04/02/Locrian-End_Terrain.html)

"It can take a lot to leave me somewhat speechless, but on the rare occasion that I am, it’s almost always due to a lack of words to concisely convey the enormity of what I’ve just experienced. Well, this is one of those times. Not for fear of a lack of things to say, but more so for the worry that what I write, won’t fully convey the majesty of what I’ve just encountered with the latest Locrian creation End Terrain...The album in itself is nine tracks of unique, abrasive yet beautiful sonic pollution, which will push you firmly off in one direction, before dragging you back around for a swift kick to the nether regions within the splitting of a second...To compartmentalise is to pointlessly speculate, as there are so many elements, and nuances at play, that not one or two comparable subgenres would fully articulate this experience. Nods to black metal, electronica and drone can also be met with hints of post-metal, and even some ambience, to conjure up all sorts of ideas, but for me, I like the term ‘vampiric doomgaze’, as that is the feeling I’m left with...The musicianship is absolutely awe inspiring, and whereas lesser mortals would maybe not execute this to such quality, Locrian creates a musical landscape, the equivalent of driving across a minefield, terrified to proceed, but ready for destruction at any moment...By the time After Extinction rolls around, I am left with no doubt as to just what a thrill ride this has been. Completely pulled out of my comfort zone, and a little dazed by it all, I find myself speechless. Maybe this is a good thing, maybe not, but one thing is for sure, this has been one hell of a ride."
--Lee Beamish, The Sleeping Shaman (https://www.thesleepingshaman.com/reviews/locrian-end-terrain/#:~:text=It%20is%20so%20full%20of,of%20what%20will%20come%20next.)

"End Terrain is both a natural evolution and an unpredictable left turn in the discography of Locrian, which is exactly what you’d expect from them, while simultaneously not expecting something quite like this album at all. This is a band that does not write songs as much as they write textures and moods, telling stories through abstract soundscapes and contrasting dirty, analogue instruments with futuristic synthesisers, much like the message they are conveying. However, on many occasions throughout End Terrain, you’ll be pleasantly surprised to hear that Locrian can get really damn catchy when they want to, and while some of these ambiences might not so easily worm its way into your head, the infrequent, sudden, but not entirely rare instances of properly heavy, memorable guitar work will. A good pair of headphones and a walk by a river filled with plastic ought to set the mood perfectly for End Terrain, and if you don’t have one nearby, then the sounds that fill this album certainly will conjure up such imagery in your mind regardless."
--Netzach, Metal Storm (https://metalstorm.net/pub/review.php?review_id=19347&fbclid=IwAR3H75emD-wCsZUCNa5fKcEdv-5_UgCP4qDUftHWSREUvC9cx9HIzysGXMI_aem_AZuS1f60nWJaPY99jV4tq1Yt-x7FXHwHqwvjq-cvB0_MQvJKfGBPxC6G3pgwEBQhkzjfdPoir3Of-ttsnd80aYJr)

Locrian was formed in late 2005 by André Foisy and Terence Hannum. Allmusic has described the band as an ”eclectic mixture of black metal, electronics, drone and noise rock”. The band have identified krautrock and '90s death metal as influences as well.

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