Thrash-metal, thanks to Metallica, Anthrax, Slayer and Megadeth, was one of the leading genres of the 1980s.

Between 2007 and 2009 a number of heavy-metal bands rediscovered thrash-metal of the 1980s.

The best one was Philadelphia's Vektor, that, after the trivial and amateurish Demolition (2006), delivered the sci-fi themed Black Future (Heavy Artillery, 2009).

After a five-year hiatus, the space opera Terminal Redux (Earache, 2016) continued in that direction of extremely sophisticated extremely hysterical metal, but stretched the songs in much more ambitious manners (six songs last longer than seven minutes). The nine-minute Charging The Void that opens the album is enough to exhaust even the most devout fan, featuring everything from a telluric instrumental intermezzos to even a pop refrain.
If one views the labyrinthine eight-minute Cygnus Terminal from the point of music organization, the similarities with Broadway musicals become obvious: the piece tells a story via a number of variations, each of which is partially a singalong, except that it is shouted so hysterically and bombarded by the instruments in such relentless manner elicit adrenaline instead of empathy.
The album is less impressive in the middle section, from LCD Liquid Crystal Disease to Pillars Of Sand, despite the demented (and relatively melodic) fury of Ultimate Artificer and the obsessive pummeling of Pillars Of Sand. The nine-minute prog-ballad (with "clean" vocals) Collapse is completely out of context.
The 13-minute Recharging The Void restores the manically intense atmosphere, and, in fact, it resumes the onslaught and drops as well some of the most memorable guitar solos. Its key narrative point is the pause in which mermaids duet with DiSanto who sings in a clean register a melody that could be lifted from a latter-day Pink Floyd album. Then he screams like a madman and the band launches into the last four minutes of mayhem, culminating in a choral rant.
The songs are peppered with all sorts of instrumental twists and turns. Nonetheless, they sound fluid and organic. It's a miracle how intricate composition, acrobatic musicianship, granitic fury, explosive intensity, blazing guitar riffs, and soulful melodies (despite the rasp register) form such a beneficial symbiosis.

By the end of the year, guitarist Erik Nelson, bassist Frank Chin and drummer Blake Anderson had left Vektor, closing a glorious chapter in the history of thrash-metal.

Source: [ Ссылка ]

Tracklist:

A1 - Charging The Void - 0:00
A2 - Cygnus Terminal - 9:08
B1 - LCD (Liquid Crystal Disease) - 17:26
B2 - Mountains Above The Sun (Instrumental) - 24:59
B3 - Ultimate Artificer - 26:21
C1 - Pteropticon - 31:27
C2 - Psychotropia - 37:27
C3 - Pillars Of Sand - 45:06
D1 - Collapse - 50:26
D2 - Recharging The Void - 59:47



Genre: Progressive Thrash Metal
Carrier: LP
Year of release: 2016
Audio Codec: FLAC
Rip type: image+.cue
Recording format: 24/192

Digitization source: third party
Digitizer: Valeron
Vinyl Condition Code: Mint
Playback device: Micro Seiki DD-8 + ZYX R100 (Black Future) | AT-ART9 (others)
Preamp: PS audio Phono Stage + Tube Preamp (Telefunken)
ACP: TASCAM HS-P82
Processing: clicks removed
Distribution Format: 24/192

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