REVIEW: AtteroTerra – ‘Guillotine’

There’s a particular electricity that only truly uncompromising heavy music can deliver. And with their newest outing ‘Guillotine’, AtteroTerra taps directly into that voltage, unleashing a short-form release that feels urgent, feral, and impossible to ignore.

Once it warms up with the intro ‘State Of Emergency’, ‘Guillotine’ barrels forward with purpose. The riffs hit like blunt instruments, the percussion charges ahead with militant force, and the vocals arrive scorched and unfiltered. Yet despite the sheer aggression, the EP never collapses into chaos for chaos’ sake. There’s a sharp sense of control beneath the noise, with an understanding of when to tighten the grip and when to let the violence breathe.

Across the EP, AtteroTerra dissects power structures, public complacency, and the ugly theatrics of modern authority with language that cuts deep without drowning in abstraction. Tracks like ‘The Worst Is Yet to Come’ feel prophetic rather than reactionary, building tension until it snaps under its own weight. ‘Hirudinea’ stands out as one of the most unsettling moments, delivering an atmosphere that feels suffocating and deliberately uncomfortable. Meanwhile, ‘Plaguebringer’ moves with a relentless momentum, its riffs grinding forward like machinery that can’t be switched off.

Throughout, the project strikes a thrilling balance between old-school brutality and contemporary clarity. The guitar tones are serrated and hostile, the low end hits with punishing density, and the drum work drives everything forward with a sense of controlled violence.

At its core, ‘Guillotine’ feels like a personal reckoning as much as a political one. You can hear the exhaustion, the protectiveness, and the refusal to stay silent any longer. As a solo endeavor, AtteroTerra’s intensity becomes even more impressive; this is one voice, multiplied into a full-scale assault.

From start to finish, ‘Guillotine’ demands your full undivided attention. And once it has it, it refuses to let go. This is a blistering reminder of what metal can still do when it’s driven by conviction and purpose.

AtteroTerra’s ‘Guillotine’ will be available to stream from the 6th February.