Lately, I’ve been trying out different genres, stepping out of my comfort zone and looking for something dynamic and brand new. I’m happy to report that Terra Atlantica has been added to the list of great bands that I’ve been exposed to in this quest.

This is some epic Power Metal with more Pirate Metal influences than you can shake a saber at. I do love some killer Power Metal, and Terra Atlantica delivers it in spades here on Oceans. This is their fourth full-length album, and I’m here to tell you it’s a solid banger.

Beginning with the short intro “Ocean Fever,” it sets the tone for what’s to come: some heavy-duty sea shanties from these Hamburg, Germany, maniacs. “Back to the Sea” gets the ball rolling with some serious chops. There’s shouted gang vocals galore and so many galloping rhythms it’s like a herd of horses coming from the speakers.

This is what I’ve been looking for, tales of battles on the high seas, not party songs about Mexico, which is exactly what Terra Atlantica doesn’t sing about. “Hoist the Sail” has all those glorious moments where Accordion and brutal guitars meet, and some beefy gang vocals to add punch to the proceedings.

“Caribbean Shores”, “Turn of the Tide”, and “Through the Water and the Waves” pulse with the band’s own take on the sub-genre, and they’re super fucking fun, the songs demanding that you bang your head until your brain sloshes like Jello in your skull. Razor sharp riffs keep the songs going at mach speed; the latter sporting some growled vocals in the background.

It’s ballad time, and Terra Atlantica is great at creating gravitas. They serve it up with some beautiful guitar on “Where My Brothers Await”, and for a few minutes, you’re taken away to some exotic shoreline, shipwrecked and royally fucked. “Land of Submarines” is another fun track, and a huge festival-sized rager with some killer riffing throughout.

One of the things I noticed is that Terra Atlantica isn’t afraid to use some Pop-Punk harmonies, and they raise their head in “Raven in the Dark”, and it doesn’t suck; surprisingly, it works perfectly within the Pirate Metal influences. “To the Realm of Gods” is just ridiculous in how good it is, but it’s the final track that brings it all together. “Oceans of Eternity” is delivered in a My Chemical Romance sort of Power Metal meets Emo Hardcore in a strange way, but it fucking rips. It shouldn’t work, but it does, and it’s the perfect way to end Oceans.

Say what you will about the sub-genre that Running Wild made popular in the 80s, but it’s spawned a great list of bands, including Rum Runners and Alestorm, so you can add Terra Atlantica to that list (if you haven’t already, I didn’t know they existed till now, and this is album number four already).

Go forth and pillage their back catalog and pick up Oceans while you’re there.

[Visit the band's website]

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