Released: 2023
Genre: Stoner rock
Sounds Like: King Buffalo, Arenna, Elder
Homeland: Germany
What makes Terminal Forest elite and sit atop OHMs Peak?
Terminal Forest is a blissful finely detailed album that intensifies with each listen.
The trio from Germany have outdone themselves on this album. They deliver some of the most peaceful heavy psych to bless our speakers this year
The waves of heavy brilliance against the calmer moments will rival any classic stoner rock album
Much akin to any Kyuss or Tool album SVH‘s Terminal Forest contains that meandering and euphoric feel that engulfs the listener start to finish
Massive swells of fuzz-fueled heaviness are accentuated by the tremendous percussion and deep bass
David Kreisl's vocals are so well-balanced and possess a melancholy yet hopeful tone. His patient soft approach and unique timbre whisk you away to different thought provoking landscapes
The opener "Microbe Galaxy" is an absolute gem that transports the listener into aerial and spacious settings. "Looking For Bird Pet" maintains the lofty feel with a wildly unique and harder edge an absolutely brilliant segue into the engrossingly vibrant closer "Star Fever"
Hats off to Fuzzorama Records, who continue to support top of the line works. Terminal Forest could very well be their finest release to date
Track Listing:
1. Microbe Galaxy 11:24
2. The Hunger 05:11
3. Space Bash III 03:08
4. Terminal Forest 10:00
5. Looking For Bird Pet 04:18
6. Star Fever 12:19
Q&A with Swan Valley Heights
OHMs Peak: Terminal Forest delivers such a majestic and outdoor feel. Are there certain locations or settings that inspire your creation?
Swan Valley Heights: Each one of us certainly has his own affinity for nature and the outdoors. The fact that we not only recorded but also wrote the album in a self-built studio in a cabin in the woods has definitely shaped the whole record in every way. It was very important to us to keep the sound of Terminal Forest as natural and "earthy" as possible – without losing heaviness of course.
OHMs Peak: 'Star Fever’ is one of the most relaxing and pensive tunes we have experienced in a long time. Take us through the creation of this track.
Swan Valley Heights: 'Star Fever' was the last track we worked on during the sessions where we wrote almost the entire album. We loved the general idea and vibe of the riffs and parts we had, but we thought that the song didn't have a proper flow yet. So two days before we started recording, we basically rewrote half of the song into what you can hear on the record.
Also, Jona Raischl (the guy who recorded Terminal Forest) and Andy did a fantastic job at creating those deep synthesizer and cymbal soundscapes at various moments in Star Fever, to give the song an even grander feeling. That was all improvised.
OHMs Peak: How did the album art come about and who created?
Swan Valley Heights: The album cover was done by Dario Puggioni, an incredible artist and a friend of our drummer Andy. We had the album title Terminal Forest before we thought about what the cover should or could like. So when we saw this painting, it was clear that we'd do our utmost to get it as the cover art.
It was also quite an adventure to get a usable photo of this massive oil painting, but we are super happy how everything turned out.
Swan Valley Heights are:
Andy Ozbolt – Drums, Synthesizers, Backing vocals
Chris Schmidt – Bass
David Kreisl – Guitar, Vocals
Jona Raischl – Live recording, additional synthesizers & backing vocals
Role (Die Tonmeisterei) – Mixing & Mastering
Dario Puggioni – Album Cover artwork
Peacefully Innovative….
beautiful heavy
Amazing album!!