Terminus: Shockwave (2018)

Well, another year, another Terminus! This year was definitely the most well attended show (I think 95% of the tickets were sold), but I would say, probably not the strongest lineup. I do understand that this time around it was harder to get certain bands, as a lot of them were committed to other festivals. I will say though… despite that it still turned out to be a good festival!! Unfortunately, I didn’t get a lot of photos or videos, but I’ll share what I have! Here were some of the highlights and surprises this year:

Day 1 (Friday):

Street Sects:

This band was quite a surprise for me. I’ve heard their music online, and too be quite honest, I didn’t really dig it, but I loved their live set. I find for me, the live show is what really makes or breaks a band for me. If I like the live show, I tend to follow a band, and it may not even be their performance so much, as their live sound… I tend to like bands that are a little noisier in their live show… and their live set was definitely noisy! I also think the added noise adds dynamics to the songs that aren’t there in the recordings. Their stage performance was excellent… and I’ll definitely have to go back and listen to their releases!

Shiv-R:

This band is one of the bands I wanted to see this weekend. They sounded great, but I will say their performance was not as energetic as I thought it would be, but overall I still liked it.

Author & Punisher:

I saw this guy a couple of years back at another Terminus. I’m mentioning this project again, cause it is excellent, and the performance is great! The guy fucking builds his own midi triggered gear that have a bunch of hydraulics in them… and in his performances you can tell he really works for his music… literally, his performance is very physical.

Day 2 (Saturday):

Kontravoid:

I will say, I’ve always dug Kontravoid, but I’ve never had a chance to see him live. His performance was excellent, and once again, it's always the live show that always makes or breaks a band for me, whether it’s the actual performance, or just the sound… his sound was fucking amazing... I will say this again, sometimes the live sound always adds these dynamics or elements you won’t hear on albums and that was definitely the case here! This was probably the highlight for me for Day 2!

Unter Null:

I would say Unter Null’s set was pretty noisy, and from what it sounded like, Erica’s harsh vocals were done without vocal processing, which I quite liked, as well, as you don’t see that too often in the scene! The performance overall was excellent!

Day 3 (Sunday):

HIDE:

HIDE were a surprise for me, I’ve heard their various stuff online, but their set was amazing and intense! The music had a meditative element to it I would say, and Heather’s vocals and stage performance were quite excellent. I really think their live sound/performance does justice to the recorded music. The added smoke and strobes definitely set the mood for their set!

TrepaneringsRitualen:

I hadn’t heard of this project until he was announced to play Terminus. I checked it out online… and I really liked it. It’s kind of a black metal meets noise. Seeing the guy’s stage performance was amazing… on the corner of the stage he had a little set up of black candles and a bunch of incense… which, even though it seems so miniscule I thought it was really cool! With the smoke billowing off the stage, the strobes and the smell of the incense and then this harsh performance on top of it, excellent!! I didn’t see any physical product in the merch area, but I will definitely be purchasing his music!!

DSTR:

Daniel Myer once again put on an excellent performance, this time as DSTR. I’m really not too sure what to say, anything Daniel touches turns to fucking amazing, whether that’s just the compositions of his music, or his stage performance. I feel like he walked in and rocked the show!!

Android Lust:

This is the band I wanted to see this year. I’ve liked Android Lust since she put out her album "The Dividing". I’ve said this before to some people, but Shikhee is definitely the female version of Trent Reznor. The performance was amazing! I don’t normally go into shows with expectations of what a band should sound like, or what their performance should be, but for seeing them for the first time, it was perfect!

Here were some of the performances that I wasn’t necessarily into, but thought deserved a mention:

FIRES:

This band was definitely a highlight for me, they had really good energy… and it looked like they had a lot of fun on the stage. I'm not really into the synthwave stuff but still good!

iVardensphere:

Scott and company always put on excellent performances. I have seen them countless times so, don’t really need to go into the details. Excellent performance!

ACTORS:

These guys, like the last Terminus, put on excellent performances, and they are very polished. I think I mentioned them last year, so no need to mention them this year again. Excellent!

FGFC820:

I don’t mind these guys music, although, I don’t actively go out and listen to it. I will say though they did put on an excellent show!

Leaether Strip:

It’s Claus, he put on an excellent performance! I don’t normally listen to his music, but it is definitely starting to grow on me!

Even though this year wasn't the strongest year in the lineup for me, I will say probably one of the better (or most enjoyed) Terminus's I've been to! Not so much in the music department, but definitely seeing people I haven't seen since the last Terminus, and I also met a lot of new cool people too! I really didn't want it to end, and for me this year, I'm starting to feel like these people are starting to become family. I hope this festival continues to be a thing here in Calgary for many years to come! I can't wait to see what next year brings, and I can't wait to see all you folks again!! See you at Override!!