Vektor – “Terminal Redux” [Album Review]

The last time I saw Vektor was in 2011 when they played to a 40-person crowd at the Yucca Tap Room in Tempe, Arizona. A short time later they picked up and moved to Philadelphia. That night I remember thinking Vektor was too good to be just another local band and that bigger and brighter things were on their horizon. Damn… I nailed that one! Fast forward to 2016, Vektor will now be releasing their third full-length Terminal Redux via Earache Records on May 6th.

I was already a huge fan of Vektor back in their “local band” days and I loved their “throwback” vibe. Seeing them live brought me back to my ’80s thrash roots; if Destruction and Voivod hooked up and had a baby, its name would be Vektor. Terminal Redux is proof that said baby has grown up. Not only have the guys learned from their parents, but now they are their own being.

Vektor stated that Terminal Redux is their first concept album and on that cue, the Voivod comparisons are expected to flare up again. But, once you get deeper into the album, those resemblances quickly dissipate. Vektor has painstakingly created a masterpiece containing ten well-executed, complex, thrash metal attacks. The production is top notch, the mix is perfect and the musicianship is impeccable.

Vektor have progressed from their previous efforts at warp speed and, in order to full appreciate their new body of work, you really need to sit down and listen in order to explore their galaxy of sound. From straight-up thrashers like “Charging the Void” and “Pteropticon” to almost a proggy ballad in “Collapse”, the space journey isn’t complete without their grand finale, “Recharging the Void”. Vektor will be traveling through the galaxy with Voivod this Summer; look out for them at both the Brutal Assault and Into the Grave festivals.

Track Listing:

01. Charging the Void
02. Cygnus Terminal
03. LCD (Liquid Crystal Disease)
04. Mountains Above the Sun
05. Ultimate Artificer
06. Pteropticon
07. Psychotropia
08. Pillars of Sand
09. Collapse
10. Recharging the Void

Run Time: 73:21
Release Date: May 6, 2016

Check out the song “Ultimate Artificer”