Wave / Form

On stage, Terminal Gods form an imposing line. Like desperate outlaws facing down an angry mob. Backed by a rack of drum-machine hardware and armed with an arsenal of frantically overdriven pop songs, the band stand in a smoke shrouded musical no man's land. Finding themselves halfway between the uncompromising, raucous hard rock of the 70s, and the cold, new wave beats of 80s, Terminal Gods are a fearsome live band with something to say.   Since forming in 2011 the band have sold out two 7" singles, a cassette and one 12" EP, 'Machine Beat Messiah', of which Absolution claimed to be "the best release of the year". This is a band passionate about vinyl and the quality of their physical releases with an unrelenting need to write, record and hone their sound.   In their short time together they've toured through mainland Europe four times including Norway, Germany, Italy, France and Spain and have kept a considerable following in London, selling out the upstairs Garage and The Camden Barfly respectively on the back of their last release.   On top of this they run live music and club nights in and around North London under Heavy Leather Promotions (the label they run out of their living room) and A New Dusk, which started out as a blog and has since escalated into London's leading minimal and cold wave club night. They've even featured in a comic book by illustrating duo Shart Attack, available in comic shops across the country. Cowlin's songwriting craftsmanship deals in the dark imagery and storytelling he acquired growing up fascinated in cult film and literature. With a mixed melting pot of melody, texture and influence, The Gods are classic songwriting personified, with exquisite arrangement and glorious production which harks back to a golden era in British music.   They cite influences from Nick Cave to The Stooges, from The Cult to Automatic era Jesus & Mary Chain, but Terminal Gods are their own runaway freight train of dark, new heavy sounds with a pop sensibility. Their debut album is due out early this year and will coincide with further tour plans.