Review by Greg on December 2, 2023.

After randomly becoming acquainted with blackened thrashers Terminalist, and having subsequently seen my own socks blown off by the sheer power of their explosive debut The Great Acceleration (2021), I now find myself gazing at yet another intriguing, apocalyptic Ryan T. Hancock artwork, signaling the return of the new Danish rising force with this The Crisis As Condition. To say that I've been looking forward to this would be an understatement, so let's see what they managed to build upon what was already an excellent foundation...

Well, if you're familiar with the debut (as you should be, by now), you should know what to expect from Terminalist: powerful thrash metal afraid to slow down (keep in mind that 'Speed' is among their lyrical themes), imbued with prominent black sensibilities, propelled by Frederik Amris' potent and precise drumming. Morten Bruun and frontman Emil Hansen are in charge of the guitars as well, and the riffwork shows considerable progress on creativity terms, like opener 'Life Won't Last' or 'A Future To Weave' easily show. 'Last Remains' stands out for being the most blackened of the lot, creating a nice contrast to the occasional clean chords appearing (harkening back to 'Estranged Reflection'?), while the title-track or 'Frenetic Standstill' appear more on the thrash side of the spectrum, but really you can't go wrong with any track, with the possible exception of the slightly less inspired 'Mutating Fractures'. Hansen's growl is pretty much the same throughout the entire album once again, but is clear enough to discern the interesting lyrics (where the 'Dromocracy' makes an appearance as well).

There is only one song pushing itself up to 10 minutes (closer 'Move In Strife'), which is the easy highlight, containing every element mentioned so far and even an atmospheric section in the middle, where Hansen and Bruun deliver a fantastic solo acting as the rare moment of clarity before going back to the carnage. Granted, the last two minutes give the impression they suddenly forgot the ending they meant to insert and thus started wreaking havoc in the most ferocious way imaginable to make up for it...

To destroy and to build in equal measure
To hold onto life through the greatest ordeals
To find the seed in the mold of despair
To maintain a hope against hope...

...but I think it can work nonetheless. Ultimately, my main quibble with The Crisis As Condition, great album as it is, is that it's simply too content with being The Great Acceleration: Part 2, as you should have guessed from my constant comparisons, while from a band that exhibited such confidence and ambition (not to mention utmost love for speed) already from their very beginnings I would've expected something... more different, even if, admittedly, I fail to imagine what else they could have improved. Hey, it's not up to me, right? Let's just say I'm 100% sure they have the potential to permanently knock down my body and soul with another album.

Of course, in the meantime The Crisis As Condition is extremely recommended if you still don't know anything about Terminalist.

Rating: 8.6 out of 10