Scanner
Terminal Earth

German sci-fi heroes of Scanner are rereleasing both their first albums on the same date early this year, the first one Hypertrace that I also reviews was a really timeless classic and was given the Japanese bonus track Galactos as an added bonus and this second album Terminal Earth was given no such thing. Between the debut and this album vocalist Knoblich left the band and S.L. Coe whom we know from his appearance on the early Angel Dust albums instead joined them. This album features a different, less serious looking artwork compared with the debut but the sci-fi theme is still there.

Musically there are differences, the vocals are a bit harsher and the sound is somewhat more raw but you still recognise that speedy heavy metal that we heard the first time and they still have the melodic sense and the small sci-fi elements that makes it somewhat futuristic. The vocalist is however not as good and the album has not aged even nearly as well as the debut album, it sounds somewhat dated but at the same time I think it sounds relatively okay compared with stuff being released today. This album is a tad on the long side and not as dynamic as its predecessor so with ten tracks and fifty minutes I think it doesn’t quite feel as well worked out as the debut album.

This is good; it is pretty catchy and well made but not a timeless classic and feels like it is being rereleased to be an addition to Hypertrace rather than for its own quality. Hypertrace was a timeless classic, this isn’t, it is Scanner’s second album and nothing much more than that. In a way probably a little disappointing for those expecting something in the same level as the debut album, this is not even near that. Nevertheless it is still a good album and if you like other works by Scanner it is a nice addition to your collection – if you already have it though there is no real point to get this one.

To me none of the tracks really stand out from the rest, they are all solid offerings and they all work more or less equally well. In the end we have a good album here but not something that will go down in history and if I was some record company fellow I would have waited two years until April and then just rerelease Hypertrace in a really nice reissue and skipped over this one because it isn’t really that amazing.

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