Photo by Chris Boarts Larson
“The band plays fast and unhinged, and they sound something like a weasel made out of jackhammers. The record works as high-grade dose of angry adrenaline…” — Stereogum
TERMINAL BLISS – the hardcore punk outfit featuring members of Pg. 99, Mammoth Grinder, Suppression, and more – today officially unleashes the physical edition of their ten-track chaotic debut EP Brute Err/ata.
Brute Err/ata is available on CD and LP via Relapse.com HERE and digitally on all streaming services HERE.
In celebration of the record’s release, TERMINAL BLISS will host a Gimme Metal guest DJ special this Monday, March 1st at 3:00pm EST / 12:00pm PST. Don’t miss it! Visit http://www.gimmemetal.com.
“The premise is just fast, unrelenting punk rock.”
That’s vocalist Chris Taylor talking about TERMINAL BLISS, the new band featuring his brother and guitarist Mike Taylor, drummer Ryan Parrish, and bassist Adam Juresko. With a pedigree that includes Pg. 99 and Pygmy Lush (the Taylors), Darkest Hour and Iron Reagan (Parrish) and City Of Caterpillar (Juresko, Parrish) the members of TERMINAL BLISS are a veritable who’s who of Virginia punk.
“We’ve all orbited each other’s bands forever,” Taylor says. “It’s been going on twenty years since I met Ryan — we used to live together. So, we’ve been in and out of each other’s circles forever.”
Inspired by the likes of Born Against, Gauze, and Void — not to mention Black Flag, Crass, Negative Approach, Disrupt, Necros, Crossed Out, and Disclose — TERMINAL BLISS conducted their first band practice on January 14th, 2020. Just six weeks and five practices later, they were recording their full-length debut with Majority Rule frontman Matt Michel in the engineer’s chair.
The name TERMINAL BLISS was born out of the merciless consumerism and environmental destruction that are America’s enduring legacy. From dystopian, sci-fi themes in tracks such as “March Of The Grieving Droid,” to the apathy of the checked-out masses on “Small One Time Fee” and the personal recount of loss and the inefficacy of our healthcare system in “Clean Bill Of Wealth,” it’s the merging of personal experience and social critique that has informed the punk edge behind the members of TERMINAL BLISS for decades now.
For TERMINAL BLISS, it’s become a crucial combination born of decades of playing live. (Unfortunately, the band’s first show was cancelled when the US began its COVID-19 lockdown.) “I realized early on that if you don’t write something that resonates with yourself on a fundamental level, it’s going to get trite when you’re performing night after night,” Taylor says. “So, with the idea in mind that we’ll eventually play shows, I always try to write something that will resonate.”
“Clocking in at just over ten minutes, Brute Err/ata is a relentless fistful of bendy hardcore filtered through a cacuaphony of droning electronics, and whatever the cold, polar opposite of atmospherics is… When you do find your footing, Brute Err/ata is a pulverizing blend of Greg Ginn riffage and playing that’s comfortable on the chaotic edge of the extreme music spectrum…” – Punknews.org
“In eleven short minutes, this quartet composed of a who’s who of Virginia punk, including members of Pg. 99, Mammoth Grinder, and Suppression, kick in the door and lay waste to everything in sight…there’s only so much punishment a listener can take in one sitting, especially with the sound they achieve here, but Brute Err/ata makes you want to push your endurance to the limit so as to not be deprived of the pain.” – No Echo
“…a scathing, noisy, brutish hardcore punk album that gets in, beats you into the dirt, and gets out just as quickly. For all its brevity, though, it’s a memorable ten minutes, blending post-hardcore with bizzaro noise rock and an almost grindcore level of intensity and experimentation…” – Nine Circles
“TERMINAL BLISS is the sound of four volatile forces coming together and creating something that feels like it is out of control and impossible to slow down. Brute Err/ata is just their first burst, and if this EP is any indication, their first full-length might be enough to continuing pouring gas on the fires in your chest and get rightfully fucking mad at forces trying to ravage us all. This is pure viciousness, and it feels just right considering the state of the world that isn’t changing any time soon.” – Meat Mead Metal
“Brute Err/ata condenses its clamorous hardcore punk into ten tracks, completed in less than eleven minutes. With such brevity, TERMINAL BLISS are able to rage against issues like an ineffective healthcare system in ‘Clean Bill Of Wealth’ without muddying their argument. The group breaks up the exhausting pace with noise interludes, maintaining the sonic volume even in the moments of downtime. Brute Err/ata has the kind of reckless energy that can only come from a new, determined band with limited time in the studio…” – Heavy Music Headquarters
“TERMINAL BLISS execute at a million miles an hour whilst eagerly spitting blood all over the floor…for those of us obsessed with Black Flag, Negative Approach, and Gauze, then there are few bands that better carry the torch for this music. Delve into the magic and get in the pit. – Two Guys Metal Reviews
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