PhaseOne is a producer from Sydney who blew up the heavy electronic scene with a powerful mix of bass music and metal. His style is mind-blowing dubstep with guitars and a dense, aggressive sound, where drops coexist with breakdowns, and synthetic subs with live riffs and screams. He skillfully combines elements of drumstep, riddim, and metalcore, creating hard-hitting yet clearly structured music that reflects technical production skill and a love for the metal scene. This blend is often called metalstep or deathstep, but in reality, PhaseOne goes beyond these labels. His tracks are an adrenaline-fueled cocktail where electronics and heavy rock amplify each other. In this review, we’ll talk about the new album by PhaseOne, “TERRANOVA”, which was released on May 30 – the producer’s second project and a continuation of his groundbreaking debut “Transcendency” from 2019. With this release, the artist marks a bold new chapter in his creative journey. PhaseOne pushes the boundaries of his signature metal-dubstep hybrid while also moving into a thematic concept that explores the duality of destruction and rebirth, both in sound and symbolism.
“Writing my sophomore album has been a true endeavor, especially following the success of my debut,” shares PhaseOne. “It took over a year to complete, with personal challenges and creative hurdles along the way, but I’m incredibly proud of the result. It’s more melodic than I expected, but still unmistakably a PhaseOne record.” Among those who contributed to the album are drum and bass heroes Flowidus and MC Dread (Reset), the promising alt-metal band Future Static (RedSky), dubstep diva HVDES (Lullaby), and seasoned vocalists like SCRO (Shadows).
The title “TERRANOVA” means “new land” in Latin. It includes 10 carefully selected tracks, with a focus on quality and emotional intensity. The album opens with the large-scale title track “TERRANOVA,” which sets the atmosphere with a dark monologue by PhaseOne’s wife, who appears as Mother Nature, speaking about the fall of humanity and the subsequent rebirth of the Earth. The artist has created something both beautiful and gloomily dark, technically sophisticated, and rich in detail. And so, I began listening to the second track, “SOS W/ MAKE THEM SUFFER,” with even greater interest. Its intro is deceptively calm – almost lulling you into a false sense of security. And then… then it crashes in with such primal, wild energy that it instantly sweeps you up and carries you into a frenzied whirlpool of melodies. A force of nature that takes hold completely and refuses to let go.
The songs on the album balance on the edge between energetic delivery, striking surrealism in the lyrics, and virtuosic progressive heavy rock. Like in the bold “RESET W/ FLOWIDUS + MC DREAD” – it sounds like a collision of three stylistic worlds: the rhythmic pressure of drum and bass, the grime-style hip-hop drive, and the powerful metal sound characteristic of PhaseOne. Flowidus add a hard dance energy, while MC Dread brings street poetry and survival rhetoric in a world teetering between chaos and rebirth. While listening, it becomes clear that the musician is moving further and further toward genre experimentation. Maybe that’s why, to me, the track “BEYOND” sounds softer – there are no sharp spikes or aggressive transitions. On the contrary, it comes across as more restrained, leaving space for reflection.
The melody and rhythm in “RUINS” stretch the tension to the limit, as if something is on the verge of happening, ready to explode. And this boldness, it’s not aggressive, no. It’s rather defiant, making you think, shake yourself awake. A challenge thrown in your face, and there’s no turning away from it. The album’s themes reflect images of civilizational decay, the awakening of natural forces, as well as inner conflicts – a struggle against destructive impulses and a desire for self-purification. All of this forms a cohesive artistic picture, where emotional intensity is intertwined with philosophical reflection.
Each track on the album stands out and carries weight. For example, the track “LULLABY W/ HVDES” is one of the most melancholic on the album – as is “REDSKY W/ FUTURE STATIC,” where melancholy is expressed through anxious melodies and a sense of looming uncertainty. Both tracks slow down the overall rhythm, inviting the listener to experience the music on a more personal level. The album concludes with the track “SHADOWS W/ SCRO” – a tense and emotionally charged culmination of the entire release. In five minutes, PhaseOne and guest vocalist SCRO take the listener through a dense, richly layered sonic fabric, where metallic guitar riffs, aggressive scream vocals, and meticulously crafted electronic dynamics come to the forefront. It is a kind of musical catharsis in which genre boundaries are finally dissolved.
The hybrid approach on the album has become a hallmark of PhaseOne – he operates at the intersection of genres, where electronics do not mute the heaviness of metal but rather enhance it, creating a dense, multilayered sound environment. “TERRANOVA” is a demonstration of how electronic music can once again gain depth of meaning and genre boldness. PhaseOne is not afraid to be complex, theatrical, and loud, and that is his strength.
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