10 Best Thrash Metal Albums Of The 21st Century
2. Vektor – Terminal Redux (2016)
Remember ‘70s sci-fi movies? Not the major ones like Star Wars or Alien, but the more offbeat and depressing ones? Ones like Soylent Green, The Omega Man and Solaris? Well, Terminal Redux is the heavy metal version of films like that.
A focused and unwavering concept album, Vektor’s third full-length is one with a fascinating and psychological narrative, telling of an astronaut that discovers, in deep space, the secret to controlling life and death. His find soon gives him seemingly infinite power but, having to endure life eternal, the astronaut descends into madness. (Click here for a summary of the full plot, it is actually mind-blowing.)
As far as concept records go, Terminal Redux is one with a better understanding of storytelling than most, knowing just what to tell the listener and what to keep intentionally cryptic. The album’s music, furthermore, is just as stylised and driven as its plot, with Vektor’s unique style fusing progressive rock, thrash and even hints of 21st-century black metal. With Terminal Redux’s bookending suites – “Charging the Void” and the reprise “Recharging the Void” – both clocking in at around ten minutes, this is a disc promising Rush-like levels of aural adventure.
Terminal Redux is by no means an easy listen but, once your head is wrapped around it, it’s an undeniably genius one.