Cosmos Terros is like a shard of something ancient. Despite its layers of shimmering guitar and the cloud of reverb that hangs over the piece like cigarette smoke over a dive bar, there’s nothing man-made about the record. It’s a conglomeration of natural forces – a glacier sailing over the coldest of oceans.
Indeed, the mini-album’s freeform nature makes pinpointing its highlights surprisingly difficult. Opener Seek The Sun stakes its claim in familiar territory. The juddering, slow motion chorus will be well known to any fan of bands like Godspeed You! Black Emperor or Explosions In The Sky, but there’s enough unique about the piece that it stands firmly on its own.
A lot of that originality comes from Mt. Mountain’s ample serving of perversity. The wave of drums that sends Diablo right up to the precipice proves oddly seductive, and the breathy gasps knotting up Elevation serve in nice contrast to the song’s juddering rhythms. It’s all dark sex and darker intent, a terrifying mix of the entrancing and the evil.
Cosmos Terros is a one-night stand of epic proportions – the sound of two celestial bodies firmly coming together.
BY JOSEPH EARP
