Netherworld

A pretty new English quartet, Termination Force give me a positive impression from this concise EP strike, keeping all 5 songs neatly under 4 minutes except the pleasantly extended title track. That’s especially pleasing when you know they sound like The Spectre Within-era Fates Warning, despite the group’s insistence on calling themselves power thrash in their self-description. I guess I do hear some old Testament perhaps, the verses of ‘Termination Force’ keeping time with thudding snare, though these guys are generally just doing interesting things with up-tempo heavy metal and would be none the worse if described that way. If you changed the guitar settings and crunched up the production some, this could be on the way to a Sanctuary sound too.

If anything, it’s the production that makes Termination Force an amalgam of positive ‘80s memories. My other vibe from this release is Scanner’s debut album - again not a terribly heavy example of mid-’80s metal - and that extends to the energy put into the compositions, the piercing vocals, and the vaguely crazed space themes on ‘Target Locked’. The bass sticks out plenty; the drumming thuds rather than pings; the leads are satisfyingly over the top; the singer sounds like he’d enjoy a perm even if he doesn’t actually have one. All this combines to make for a lively sound - practically a live sound - that roars like the wind and still remains malleable, kind of like long hair flowing out the top of a car roof. Better still, Netherworld displays different ideas in each track that form a clear concept of the band’s identity, from singalong heavy metal in ‘Heart Racer’ to elastic showmanship as ‘After the Fall’ hots up.

This EP would have gone down an absolute storm if released in 1985 and now be selling for stupid prices on Discogs. Termination Force sadly can’t take advantage of that kind of retrospective thought, but I’m sure they will appeal to plenty of current metal fans too, uniting most melodic denominations with great chops and songwriting suss. Note that Rich Rutter is an absolute keeper as vocalist too, making me want to check out his other band Toledo Steel. Netherworld really feels like a cut above.