It’s easy to hide when the tides get too strong, when it feels like they’ll crash down on us and bury our voices forever. And make no mistake, there are plenty of forces out there that would like to do just that. But bravery is saying no in the face of fear, and history tells us tyranny always falls, so while our chips may be down now, it won’t be that way forever.

Dutch black metal firepower Terzij de Horde are living the same reality as you and I, and on their thunderous new record “Our Breath Is Not Ours Alone” (a line drawn from German sociologist Hartmut Rosa), they break through the barriers trying to hold us back. The band—vocalist Joost Vervoort, guitarists Demian Snel and Jelle Agema, bassist Johan van Hattum, drummer Richard Japenga—is on fire from the start, blending black metal and even some hardcore strains, pouring their emotion and determination all over these seven tracks that burst with energy. This is defiance and resilience blazing heavily, taking you with them as they trample the power structure. 

“Each Breath Is a Flame” sets the tone early, blazing out of nowhere as guitars fire up and simmer, feedback chokes, and righteous wails blend into “Raise Them Towards the Sun” that is raucous and punishing. Wails scar as black metal-style melodies let lava flow, a snarling force slashing into the side of the earth. Leads blaze and then glaze, bursting open at the seams, channeling a beastly attack that rampages to the end. “The Shadows of Prefiguration” races as the guitars hail blackness, their combined force pummeling as the temperatures skyrocket. Raspy wails snaps as a violent gust takes control, everything picking up the pace to dangerous levels. “They’ll never forget us again!”  Vervoort continually howls as the final moments act as a powder keg of revolt.

“A Hammer to the Great Matter of Birth and Death” hangs in the air before destruction comes, nasty howls and hammering guitars forming an impenetrable force, The playing is muscular and hangs on bones, growing hypnotic for a stretch, and then launching a ferocious assault that spatters colors. “The All-Consuming Work of the Soul’s Foreclosing” has strings glazing and howls wrenching, melodic smoke darkening the air, the drums blistering and leaving marks. The pace picks up the speed as the howls destroy, everything coming to a blinding finish. “Justice Is Not Enough to Leave the House of Modernity” starts reflective before the emotion spurts,  Vervoort calling, “We must leave this house!” Guitars infect before tightening their grip, hearts bleed fresh blood, and the howls pulse, leading the momentum into a righteous show of rage. Closer “Discarding All Adornments” brings boiling guitars and a hefty pace, steaming and flattering, the guitars spiraling into oblivion. The pace calms as Amelia Baker of Cinder Well speaks over the fog, declaring, “We await our rebirth to the light of the morningstar.” The pace engulfs, mauling and battering, the wails punishing, everything storming before bowing out to an elegant sheen.

Terzij de Horde have an uncanny ability to get your blood flowing and fists raised in defiance like they do on “Our Breath Is Not Ours Alone,” a record that answers the times as leadership globally doesn’t seem to care to do so. This is a record that, even if you choose to ignore the lyrical content, will light your guts on fire. It’s inescapable. But if you’re also feeling lost and wondering how to carry on, perhaps this will help you light your own torch of defiance to hold aloft against chaos.

For more on the band, go here: https://terzijdehorde.bandcamp.com/

To buy the album, go here (U.S.): https://deathwishinc.com/collections/church-road

Or here (Europe): https://www.deathwishinc.eu/collections/church-road

Or here: https://fiadh.bandcamp.com/

Or here: https://shop.tartarusrecords.com/product/terzij-de-horde-our-breath-is-not-ours-alone/

For more on the label, go here: https://churchroadrecords.com/

And here: https://fiadh.bandcamp.com/

And here: https://tartarusrecords.bandcamp.com/