In the wake of the passing of Nisse Karlén into eternity, it seems only appropriate to pay tribute to a titan of extreme metal. Sacramentum's unique style of melodic black/death metal not only placed them directly alongside bands like Dissection and Dawn, but established melodic ideas and ambitious structural methodologies that would only take root more popularly decades later. Come with us as we take a look at their earliest material and attempt to trace their roots forward up to newer foliage. 0:00:00 - Intro 0:15:44 - Finis Malorum 0:54:30 - Interlude - Vinterland - “Still the Night is Awake” fr. Welcome My Last Chapter (No Fashion Records, 1996) 0:58:01 - Far Away From The Sun 01:51:12 - Outro - Sacramentum - “The Vision and The Voice,” fr. Far Away from The Sun (Adipocere Records, 1996) Terminus on YoutubeTerminus on PatreonTDMG on Substackthetrueterminus@gmail.com

Since the beginning of the year, your intrepid hosts have been concentrating exclusively on older, classic material- this all changes today. At least for this episode. In today's entry, we feature the triumphant return of Paimon Gate with a new record that elaborates on their established style with more evolution than might appear at first blush, and the inaugural volley by Pyromancer, whose oppressive brand of late 80s filth brings to mind a blood-smeared and heroin-shooting take on Celtic Frost. 0:00:00 - Intro 0:02:42 - Paimon Gate - Advanced Satanic Witchcraft (Nuclear War Now) 0:58:40 - Interlude - Blood Storm - “The Atlantean Wardragon,” fr. The Atlantean Wardragon (Cacophonous Records, 1997) 1:03:51 - Pyromancer - Absolute Dominion by Fire (Adirondack Black Mass) 1:44:42 - Outro - Gravewürm - “Ancient Storms of War,” fr. Doomed to Eternity (Hell’s Headbangers) Terminus on YoutubeTerminus on PatreonTDMG on Substackthetrueterminus@gmail.com

We have to go back, bros. In today's episode of Terminus, your hosts travel back to 1990 to cover two obscure records close to their hearts, each operating in the primordial ooze of death metal, grindcore, thrash, and hardcore, but with completely contrasting sounds. TBMG brings to the occasion Prophecy of Doom, whose 1990 record resembles Deviated Instinct or early Bolt Thrower but with a demented industrial-stench aesthetic all their own. TDMG's plus one: Righteous Pigs, who create what sounds like modern crowdkilling hardcore out of thrash riffs and jazz drumming. 0:00:00 - Intro 0:10:51 - Prophecy of Doom - Acknowledge the Confusion Master (Deaf Records, 1990) 0:53:46 - Interlude - Sonic Violence - “Tortured (Dub)” fr. Jagd (Peaceville Records, 1990) 1:00:20 - Righteous Pigs - Stress Related (Nuclear Blast Records, 1990) 1:55:34 - Outro - Like Rats - “Bloodline” fr. Like Rats (A389 Recordings, 2012) Terminus on YoutubeTerminus on PatreonTDMG on Substackthetrueterminus@gmail.com

What happens when you record an all-timer? What happens when you permanently alter the course of an entire genre of music? What happens when a set of very precise techniques enter the basic DNA of an entire generation? On this episode, TDMG and TBMG discuss Sargeist, a band whose influence is so vast it's nearly unnoticed, taking a look at their seminal 2010 record Let the Devil In and their brand new release, Flame Within Flame. Can the band ever achieve the heights of the past? Or, more importantly: should that even be the goal? 0:00:00 - A history of Sargeist, their influence, and Franco-Finnish Black Metal 0:34:55 - Let the Devil In (Moribund Records/World Terror Committee, 2010) 1:36:06 - Interlude - Sargeist - “Let The Devil In,” fr. Let The Devil In (Moribund / WTC, 2010) 1:40:13 - Flame Within Flame (World Terror Committee, 2025) 2:35:11 - Outro - Bekhira - “The Devil and the Sorcerer” fr. L'élu du mal (Aura Mystique Productions, 2005) Terminus on YoutubeTerminus on PatreonTDMG on Substackthetrueterminus@gmail.com

TDMG returns with the (somehow) highly anticipated second installment of Balaclava Books, and the second installment of his investigation into Peter Sotos' Total Abuse. This time, we take a look at Tool, the notorious eight-part work which displays Peter Sotos finding his footing in his own style and plumbing ever-deeper depths of human despair and cruelty. Listener discretion strongly advised. 0:00:00 - Intro 0:11:33 - Tool. and Total Abuse 0:19:30 - One (Quality Time) 0:38:36 - Five 0:56:06 - Two and Three 1:11:36 - Six and Seven 1:21:31 - Four and Eight Terminus on YoutubeTerminus on PatreonTDMG on Substackthetrueterminus@gmail.com

Thought we were dead? You fucking wish! Terminus is back with a hot one long in the making, where your hosts take a look at the seminal mid-00s work of Enmity and Last Days of Humanity while drawing out broader ideas of brutal death metal's proximity to noise. If black metal without heavy metal gets you Blazebirth Hall, what happens when a similar concept is applied to death metal? Only the most extreme music ever made. After the reviews, stick around for a guided tour of some of TDMG's favorite obscurities from this scene and beyond. 0:00:00 - Intro/A Conception of Noisedeath 0:14:58 - Enmity - Illuminations of Vile Engorgement (Permeated Records, 2005) 0:59:54 - Interlude - Intestinal Engorgement - “Fetal Extraction Anal” fr. Putrefying Consumption of Dismemberment (Amputated Vein Records, 2022) 1:02:53 - Last Days of Humanity - Putrefaction in Progress (Bones Brigade, 2006) 1:40:12 - Interlude - Foetopsy - “Spilling of Blood and Urine Into the Body Cavity” fr. Dyspartum (Barbarian Records, 2003) 1:41:28 - Other fascinating records 2:11:40 - Outro - Masturbation - “Gutted and Incinerated In the Insanity of Your Thoughts” fr. Putrified Vaginal Infibulation (Brutalized Records, 2006)

What, you want a cute little description of the episode? It's BOLT THROWER.0:00:00 - Intro / a brief history of Bolt Thrower and stenchcore 0:38:48 - Realm of Chaos (Slaves to Darkness) (Earache Records, 1989) 1:43:49 - Interlude - Bolt Thrower - “World Eater 94” fr. Who Dares Wins (Earache Records, 1998) 1:49:57 - The IVth Crusade (Earache Records, 1992) 3:16:28 - Just Before Dawn - “The Gulf of Tonkin” fr. A War Too Far (Raw Skull Recordz, 2023)HERESY CORRECTIVE: In a moment of warp-tainted hubris, TBMG misidentifies the Space Marine chapter on the cover of WH40K 1st Edition. It is the CRIMSON Fists, NOT the Imperial Fists. The Inquisition has been notified.Terminus on YoutubeTerminus on PatreonTDMG on Substackthetrueterminus@gmail.com

In the inaugural episode of a new series on extreme literature, TDMG explores the earliest work by the infamous Peter Sotos, plunging headlong into the most perverse incarnation of so-called "true crime" writing in the beginning of an effort to explore the real power within one of the world's most scorned authors. Listener discretion strongly advised. 0:00:00 - Peter Sotos 0:19:50 - Total Abuse 0:28:41 - Pure Terminus on YoutubeTerminus on PatreonTDMG on Substackthetrueterminus@gmail.com

On the newest episode of I Hate Video Games and Never Play Them, your host tackles a game almost universally played but rarely taken seriously: Peggle, the physics puzzler that marks the apex of Popcap Games- and maybe casual games as a whole. Terminus links:Terminus on YoutubeTerminus on PatreonTDMG on Substackthetrueterminus@gmail.com

A spectre is haunting black metal- that of the industrial black metal style of the late 90s and early 00s. Foremost among that cadre is Aborym, Italian stallions of legend now forgotten in the revised zeitgeist of 2025. Join your hosts as we examine Aborym's first and third records, discovering that not only are they not just "an industrial black metal band," but that they actually created some of the best and most forward-thinking extreme metal of the era. What, are you "too cool" for The Matrix now? 0:00:00 - Kali Yuga Bizarre (Scarlet Records, 1999) 0:56:06 - Interlude - Coil - “Ostia (The Death of Pasolini)” fr. Horse Rotorvator (Force & Form, 1986) 1:02:29 - With No Human Intervention (Code666 Records, 2003) 1:45:42 - Outro - Project Deviate - “Not My Kind” fr. Not My Kind/Flash! (Fusion Records, 2006) Terminus links:Terminus on YoutubeTerminus on PatreonTDMG on Substackthetrueterminus@gmail.com

On the new bite-sized episode of I Hate Video Games and Never Play Them, your host takes a look at A Short Hike, a tiny game about a little bird on a medium-sized adventure with big pixels. Terminus links:Terminus on YoutubeTerminus on PatreonTDMG on Substackthetrueterminus@gmail.com

In 2025's first assault, the plucky doughboys at Terminus investigate an obscure gem of 90s black metal: Niden Div. 187. Best known for featuring members of a host of Swedish death metal bands, the project stands on its own as a truly remarkable artifact of the era, far ahead of its time in melody and experimental structures. Sit back, relax, and enjoy an episode longer than the band's entire discography. 0:00:00 - Intro 0:06:28 - Niden Div. 187 1:21:45 - Outro - Zyklon-B - “Mental Orgasm” fr. Blood Must be Shed (Malicious Records, 1995) Terminus links:Terminus on YoutubeTerminus on PatreonTDMG on Substackthetrueterminus@gmail.com

For the first volley of non-musical content, The Death Metal Guy starts a new program: I Hate Video Games and Never Play Them, a series of deep dive, essayistic critiques of games in the style you know and (hopefully) love. This time, he takes a look at Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice, a 2017 third person action/puzzle game from Ninja Theory best known for its deep themes and striking presentation- but does it live up to the hype? Listen and find out. But also, no. Terminus links:Terminus on YoutubeTerminus on PatreonTDMG on Substackthetrueterminus@gmail.com

GENTLEMEN... BEHOLD! The Terminus Omega 2024 livestream is now mirrored here for your podcast listening pleasure. Join TBMG, TDMG, and harried Terminus intern Hyper Shaman as we go through the highlights of the year with helpful input from our... adoring(?) audience. This one was a great time and we hope those of you who don't typically listen on Youtube will enjoy listening as much as we did streaming. For those who weren't there: 2025 will feature some big but positive changes for Terminus, featuring all sorts of new forms of content that will lead us boldly into the second half of the decade. As always, thanks for listening. BIG THINGS COMING *china cymbal crashes ominously* Terminus links:Terminus on YoutubeTerminus on PatreonTerminus on InstagramTerminus on Facebookthetrueterminus@gmail.com

In this titanic, tumultuous episode of Terminus, we have the rare pleasure of covering two bands that complement each other perfectly. First up, it’s jazzy brutal death from Germany. Second, it’s German brutal-deathy jazz, or…. something? Both bands feature legendary German drummer Lille Gruber, on legendary German drums. Both records are insanely good. We had a lot of fun with this one, and we hope you do, too.0:00:00 - Intro0:03:31 - Defeated Sanity - Chronicles of Lunacy (Season of Mist)0:44:51 - Interlude - Repudilation - “Decimation,” fr. Purging of Impurity (Numb Cum Productions, 1996)0:48:16 - Ingurgitating Oblivion - Ontology of Nought (Willowtip Records)1:32:06 - Outro - Disillusion - “And the Mirror Cracked,” fr. Back to Times of Splendor (Metal Blade Records, 2004)Terminus links:Terminus on YoutubeTerminus on PatreonTerminus on InstagramTerminus on Facebookthetrueterminus@gmail.com

This season, give thanks for the only thing in your life that truly matters - Terminus: Extreme Metal Podcast. In this great and terrible new episode, your hosts investigate new records from two esoteric enclaves of Russian black metal. You know we’re obsessed with this shit. So are you. Buckle up.00:00 - Intro0:03:35 - Blackdeath - Mortui Incedere Possunt (End All Life Productions / NoEvDia)Mad kappelmeisters of St. Petersburg wring jagged melodies from demon-addled fiddles. With ingenious full-band songwriting and a strangely compelling slantwise take on Orthodox black metal, this may be their finest record yet.0:55:05 - Interlude - Bethlehem - “Second Coming” fr. Dark Metal (Adipocere Records, 1994)1:01:05 - Old Wainds - Stormheart (Darkness Shall Rise Productions)Murmansk tundra shamans emerge from the murk with storming Slavonic riffage, savage stomps, and maybe even a few forbidden heavy metal kicks.1:51:37 - Outro - Runes of Dianceht - “In The War,” fr. the Runes of Dianceht demo (Independent, 1996)Terminus links:Terminus on YoutubeTerminus on PatreonTerminus on Instagramthetrueterminus@gmail.com

TDMG has returned after withstanding the wrath of nature with shotgun and Miller High Life in hand just in time for an episode of punishing midpaced crunch courtesy of TBMG. After a mini-review of Keroeis, a project by associates of TDMG which plays around the edges of older USBM ala Black Funeral with updates from the orthodox scene, we move toward more minimal territory. Deadform: stenchcore supergroup dwelling in the realms of noisy, nihilistic sludge. Barathrum: long-running Finnish legends update their traditionally Beheretish style of black metal with thrashing tempos and more acrobatic guitars.0:00:00 - Intro / Keroeis - Priestess Emanations (Independent)0:24:35 - Deadform - Entrenched in Hell (Tankcrimes)1:06:00 - Interlude - Skaven - “Plague Wind” fr. Skaven/Dystopia (Life Is Abuse, 1996)1:10:20 - Barathrum - Überkill (Hammer of Hate)1:56:47 - Outro - Goatlord - “Chicken Dance” fr. Reflections of the Solstice (Turbo Music, 1991)Terminus links:Terminus on YoutubeTerminus on PatreonTerminus on InstagramTerminus on Facebookthetrueterminus@gmail.com

As The Death Metal Guy recovers from the tumult of hurricane season, I call upon our bold young comrade Hyper Shaman to fill TDMG’s capacious, plutonium-toed boots. Our aim? Get caught up on GLORIOUS PAGAN BLACK METAL.This episode began as a normal two-record show, but due to time constraints, and the sheer scale of the work at hand, it became a standalone review of the new album by Auld Ridge. Here, O.W.G.A. steps out of the shadows and takes a fighting stance, reworking his symphonic style around a core of raging, racing folk melody. You can probably guess how we feel about this one.00:00 - Intro0:04:09 - Auld Ridge - For Death and Glory, to the Gods I Cry (The Hermetic Order of Ytene / Dark Adversary / Amor Fati)1:00:52 - Outro: Gorgoroth - “Profetens Åpenbaring,” fr. Under The Sign of Hell (Malicious Records, 1997)Note 1: The “Krig”-based riff isn’t on Consanguineous, it’s here, in the middle of Track 5 (“Ar Cricinagneth, An Agen Albannu Tu Telyr”).Note 2: I forgot to mention Auld Ridge’s possible debt to Panphage, a forgotten legend of 2010s BM. The resemblance is especially strong on Track 4 (“Henmaen…..”) - a phrase from Panphage's Drengskapr crops up at 48:00, just as my sample ends.Terminus links:Terminus on YoutubeTerminus on PatreonTerminus on InstagramTerminus on Facebookthetrueterminus@gmail.com

Terminators, thank you for your patience. After a couple weeks’ delay, for which TDMG has a good excuse (two fucking hurricanes) and I have none, we’re back! Or rather, I’m back, with a big interview.A couple weeks ago, I had the pleasure of speaking with Chris Naughton, frontman of Winterfylleth and pioneer of modern pagan black metal. I asked him to draw up a list of five quintessentially English bands/scenes that fed into the Winterfylleth sound. These serve as touchstones for a conversation ranging from details of guitar technique to lyrical source texts to obscure distro history.On the show, we’ve often characterized Winterfylleth as a kind of tricky folk-cultural transplant project, “English Slavblack.” Talking with Chris led me to revise this portrait: Much of what I attributed to the influence of Ukrainian bands has older roots in Chris’s native soil, in styles I hadn’t necessarily expected. As for the question of English black metal, Chris has a thoughtful answer, a robust rebuttal to the old saw that “there's no such thing as 'English' culture."00:00 - Intro3:08 - Peaceville death-doom, songwriting for Winterfylleth33:22 - Bolt Thrower, Carcass52:45 - Is there an “English Sound” in black metal? (YES, but it’s not what you think)1:01:09 - Deep Purple1:06:40 - Interlude - Iron Maiden - “Blood Brothers” fr. Brave New World (EMI, 2000)1:13:54 - Fairport Convention, folk ballads, and pastoral poetry1:30:21 - Primordial, the turn towards pagan black metal1:43:22 - Drudkh / Hate Forest vs. other Slavic black metal2:14:00 - Outro - Winterfylleth - “The Insurrection,” fr. The Imperious Horizon (Candlelight, 2024)Terminus links:Terminus on YoutubeTerminus on PatreonTerminus on InstagramTerminus on Facebookthetrueterminus@gmail.com

On Terminus 163, we hearken back to the early days of the show with a wildly disparate lineup - two bands united only by their weirdness, and by the suddenness of their return.00:00 - Intro0:04:03 - Viscera Infest - Teratoma (Obliteration Records)Japanese brutal goregrinders break out of the psych ward with a shockingly fast and noisy reinterpretation of Death Metal - this is “full spectrum death metal” with all the insanity of the margins intact.0:46:31 - Interlude - Deranged - “Imbecile Humans/Drag Her Out to Die” fr. Plainfield Cemetery (Listenable Records, 2002)0:49:27 - Trelldom - …By the Shadows… (Prophecy Productions)Norwegian pagan black metal progenitors emerge from the nocturnal woods with, uh, saxophones? This raises two questions - 1. Does it make sense? and 2. Does it work?1:34:30 - Outro - Gaahlskagg - “Skullfuck,” fr. Erotic Funeral (No Colours Records, 2000)Terminus links:Terminus on YoutubeTerminus on PatreonTerminus on InstagramTerminus on Facebookthetrueterminus@gmail.com