Welcome to Demo:listen, your weekly peek into the future of underground metal. Whether it’s death, grind, black, doom, sludge, heavy, progressive, stoner, retro, post-, etc. we’re here to bring you the latest demos from the newest bands. On this week’s Demo:listen, we’ve got nowhere to run from Varna’s Terravore.
One thing you can never have enough of is killer thrash. And if that thrash happens to be the work of three young Bulgarian men under the moniker Terravore, all the better. Hailing from that ancient city Varna, Terravore actually released their demo nearly six months ago! So they’re not just underground then: they’re underrated! Well, in these parts, at least. One look at their Facebook will show you that Terravore’s a local favorite—always a good sign.
“The scene in Varna is quite active,” says Ivan Lazarov, Terravore’s songwriter and guitarist. Lazarov always does those backing growls, and let’s hope that’s his real surname. However, despite the Bulgaria’s fecundity for metal, the country is wanting for thrash. “Actually the thrash bands that are still active are very few,” Kalin Buchvarov, bassist, lyricist and vocalist explains, “and not only in Varna, but in the whole country, compared to other metal subgenres.”
On their debut MLP, Apocalyptic Impact, Terravore slay four bangers, plus an intro you hope they play live, and a fitting outro, with unpretentious panache and impressive intelligence. The first song “The Chicxulub Impactor” lands somewhere between Finnish DM’s buoyancy and German thrash’s highly communicable catchiness. The rest of the album is just as dynamic. Terravore proves they’re as at adept at flying warp speed as they are creeping around in cosmic detritus.
“It was Kalin’s idea to start a side project, a bit diverse, unlike Mass Cremation,” the band explains. “[Kalin] met Ivan, who appeared to seek musicians for a thrash band too, and so it began. At first we had a different drummer, but later Trendafil [Trendafilov] resigned from Mass Cremation and joined the new team.” A fairly new band, then, so it must be in their blood, this capacity to thrash.
Make your way over to Terravore’s Bandcamp, and apocalyptically impact that Buy Now button, or pick up one of the few remaining tapes—if you can find one. If you miss out, just keep your eyes peeled because the band will have CD copies very soon. Also, look out because Terravore will enter the studio again this winter to record their debut proper full length. So, they’re moving fast, you’d better keep up.
Check this space next and every Friday for promising new metal.
