Terra Incognito

When a headbanger moves on to other projects, some listeners will expect his/her new band to sound like the old one (an unrealistic expectation in some cases). Other metalheads, however, are not only open to change — they admire it. They respect the fact that Tommy Lee's Methods of Mayhem project, for example, was a major departure from his former band Mötley Crüe. And only the headbangers who are open to change will appreciate where Tomas Lindberg is coming from on Terra Incognito, which is the Great Deceiver's second full-length album. Lindberg, of course, is best known for his years with the Swedish death metal/black metal unit At the Gates, but anyone who expects Deceiver to sound like a carbon copy of Lindberg's former band is bound to be disappointed. Terra Incognito isn't straight-up death metal, but rather offers an intense, hammering, jagged alternative metal assault that draws on influences ranging from Sepultura, Neurosis, Godflesh, and Pantera to Korn (minus the adoration of hip-hop). While Lindberg's vocal style isn't oblivious to death metal — his singing ranges from a deep, guttural, demonic-style growl to the tortured screaming of metalcore to some fairly "normal" singing — Deceiver's chugging, downtuned guitar riffs are closer to what is loosely defined as alternative metal (a far-reaching term that has been applied to everyone from Limp Bizkit to Ministry to Hammerlock). For all its ferocity, Terra Incognito is relatively melodic, incorporating a touch of goth rock spookiness at times; nonetheless, this 2004 release isn't for the faint of heart — and while Lindberg and his Nordic colleagues aren't totally devoid of mercy, they're still brutal. Terra Incognito isn't quite as consistent as it could have been, but if this CD occasionally misses the creative mark, it has many more hits than misses — and all things considered, Terra Incognito is among 2004's more memorable alt-metal discs.