Dan Terminus - Last Call For All Passengers [Full Album - 2020 - Official]

[@1ungawa]

We don't deserve this, but we will take it!

[@Orunk777]

I won't argue with that but please next time let agent Smith win, TY

[@BonesMaya]

“We hope it was worth the wait.” It undoubtedly was.

[@obsidiandeluxe4474]

Horsewave

[@diecast4556]

im down 😁😎

[@KevlarIlluminati]

Canon

[@quavergonzalez4710]

Hoofstep

[@Noplan]

Saddlecore

[@CockatooDude]

I wanted to wait a bit so I could listen to this album a few times before reviewing it (and you can skip to the last paragraph for my final thoughts), leveraging what I know about Dan Terminus and the way he's feeling about the music he makes. One of the things Dan has mentioned in interviews on Beyond Synth (with Andy Last, ayy) is that he HATES most of synthwave, according to him most of it is the same stuff on repeat over and over and it is getting really tiring. He feels the same way about his albums by the time they get released, stating that he hears them so many times by the time he's done mastering them that he never wants to listen to them again. In a similar vein he's also stated that because of this he never wants to make two albums that sound too similar, as then he feels like he won't be pushing himself as an artist and he also just doesn't like repeating himself, saying that making the same thing again is boring. Knowing this, has he achieved these goals with Last Call For All Passengers? Let's start with percussion. Dan Terminus' albums had always had interesting percussion, it's part of what made them stand out, the beat was never the standard kick, snare in 4/4 that pervades like 95% of synthwave, darksynth, and cyberpunk music. However, even compared to Automated Refrains the breakbeat style present in this album is very fresh, something I have not seen anywhere in this genre before. For something so new I think he integrated it surprisingly well into the style, and I'm sure that once I get more used to the way this album sounds, the percussion of most synthwave is going to seem even more boring than it already is. As a final rating I'll give good marks for percussion, the timing and types of percussion sounds are in my opinion quite unique, with kick drums and snares sounding just different enough to be fresh, in addition to piercing through the mix very clearly. I would say that Dan has achieved his musical goals with the percussion in this album. Next, *_the synths_* and tonality of the album. Aggressive! Dan maintains an action packed and intense sound design in this album, from the highly distorted breakdown in Oubliette to the great post bridge section of Multitude, aggressive synthlines dominate the frequency ranges of Last Call For All Passengers. Even more than previously, Dan Terminus takes distortion to another level, making it sound more sophisticated and occasionally atmospheric than many people would think possible. For example, the complex, almost LFO like distorted pad/lead present in Ruins has the complexity of 2 or 3 more standard sounds in just one package, really excellent work there. There are some simpler synth leads that have been ever present in Dan Terminus' music that maintain their presence here, but I think they add to the songs by offering a welcome break from all the distortion and continue to work well. However, this album also starts running into heavy differences when compared to his previous work. Each track in this album is simpler from a sound layering standpoint than much of his previous work, harkening back to the simplicity of albums like The Darkest Benthic Division and some parts of Stratospheric Cannon Symphony. Compared to Automated Refrains where most songs had like 5 or 6 clearly discernible things happening at any given time, the songs in this album tend to keep it to 3 or less. I'm sure if you look at the DAW files there's more going on, but from a listening perspective this album is much simpler than his previous, but more recent work. There is some purpose to this of course, if you have highly complex sounds then you have to have less going on or the music will be very difficult to listen to and unpleasant. So while this is a start change for Dan, once again his musical skill has made it work. For this category I'll integrate my rating into the final thoughts section, but as a preliminary I do think that once again Dan has achieved his goal of trying something new. Finally, progression and atmosphere. This is a hard one. Personally when I listen to music I really look for atmosphere, it's one of the reasons I love this genre so much, some of the songs (like Friendship Between Clear Plastic Walls) I've heard from artists like Dan Terminus just take my away to another place wholly and completely for a few minutes. Initially, I did not hear that in this album. Some sections of certain songs like the first part of Abattoir sound (as one commenter pointed out) almost like something you'd hear from the Prodigy, which initially did put me off just a little. In previous albums Dan always had at least one track that was slower and more relaxed, the aforementioned Friendship Through Clear Plastic Walls and Dirge of the Ancient Machines in "Automated Refrains", all of "The Darkest Benthic Division", and while "Stratospheric Cannon Symphony" and "The Wrath of Code" didn't have a lot of overtly slow tracks, the albums themselves were generally more relaxed with less frantic tempos and less aggressive sound design. Tracks in this album build, but always in steps, there is no Vesubian-like slow ramp as there was in some previous albums, here it is more: start off medium, wait a bar or two, then instantly jump into hyper distortion. Something that contrasts nicely with this is that a lot of songs have a really beautiful break when it comes to the bridge section. All of a sudden the pounding ends, the raw distortion stops, and we get a really nice melody consisting of a beautiful synth along with (usually) some pads, and after that is new established the distortion can return with an extra layer. When a song ends, we are left with the bare minimum: a slow, melancholy synth to fade us out into darkness... before the next wave of action starts back up to sweep us away once more. Out of all his albums, this one is definitely the most consistently action packed, but the hyper aggression always forms into some form of beauty midway through the tracks, the resulting atmosphere is actually quite melancholy under the fast overtones. Over the last few days I've come to form the opinion that despite the simplicity in the layering and the aggression, there is a strong atmosphere present which I'll elaborate more on in the conclusion. Once again, I think that while different and maybe initially less pleasant than Dan's previous work, he proves that he can push boundaries and still keep his positive elements. Well we've finally gotten here, my conclusion and final thoughts for Last Call For All Passengers. This album is mastered LOUD, I turn my volume up an extra 5 dB at least when listening to this because otherwise it just doesn't work for me. Combined with the sound design and progressions, this album represents something building up in Dan, he might be a bit fed up with the world, or maybe just with synthwave and needed a way to express this feeling. I think the best image I can attribute to it is destruction and rage, like the last throes of a city during its violent end (the name of the album and the album art certainly helps reinforce this image). The bass is deeper than his previous work, the percussion hits harder, and the distortion is very complex and intricate but absolutely brutal at the same time. During this destruction, there is also much beauty to be had, themes of hopeful new beginnings amist nostalgia for this lost world are present in the undertones of the album, in the melodies of the synth sequences and the wonderful, drawn out pads underlying the aggressive leads. As the album ends, we are drawn to a somewhat peaceful basking in the destruction that we've just witnessed, not _quite_ sure of where to go next, both hopefulness and sadness weighing equally in our minds. Imagery of horses can be quite relevant to these themes as well. Horses are very powerful and raw animals and have also been mythological symbols for destruction, but at the same time are regarded as highly graceful and precise creatures, representing the duality of themes in this album very well. Overall I think that Dan has achieved his goals with this piece of art, it is very different from what he's done before, from the beats to the mastering to the progressions and story. While his previous albums have I think been more about events _in_ a world, they haven't been as overt about the destruction of that world as this album. Simultaneously, despite the simpler layering, the complexity of the sound design makes for just as sophisticated a piece of work as his older albums, keeping that hallmark of quality that Dan Terminus is known for. I think that if at first you don't like this album, think of these themes, and of Dan as a person, his love for trying new things, his potential anger being expressed, and of course his love of riding horses, and try to look at it from a different perspective. Last Call For All Passengers is a fantastic expression of Dan Terminus growing as an artist, and despite the stylistic departure from his previous work, it is both thematically and musically just as complex and in my mind wholeheartedly deserves to be up there with all his best work. A+ from me Dan, A+ from me.

[@Atzay]

Outstanding write-up, I really appreciate the effort! These are precisely my thoughts too, but you expressed them better than I could, kudos

[@CockatooDude]

@@Atzay Ayy finally someone read it! Thanks for giving it a look, I appreciate that and I'm glad you agree.

[@michaeljurado7224]

I also read it!

[@danterminus]

Thanks for this great compliment, glad you enjoyed the music, you are right on many points though, kudos for that !

[@CockatooDude]

@@danterminus Oh man I feel so good right now! Thanks for reading it man, I really appreciate that.

[@Deadsoc]

Literally cannot listen to Requiem without my jaw dropping

[@0NIVLIS]

Slaps Hard. Twelve Hooves Outta Ten.

[@ViciousProgressor]

True art. Is this a revelations reference? The pale horse (green for plague) is the last horse; perhaps the 'last call' before the horsemen bring destruction on the earth.

[@Kruegernator123]

I think so. The end times are near, and the Second Coming is at hand. I can feel it.

[@Blackwidow]

@@Kruegernator123 depends on if the horse move forward or backwards. ;)

[@5000mahmud]

HE WAS RIGHT

[@machineman8920]

@@5000mahmud HOLY SHIT

[@Itri_Vega]

It's a love letter to The Prodigy. Love it.

[@plebxemooh3328]

I literally left the party I was at to experience this Edit : it was worth it ; somehow, the album fits its title so well....

[@TheGanamaster]

That Oubliette, that first song, how amazing, I am listening to the whole album in repeat mode, just unbelivieable.

[@Mrfreop]

Goddammit why are the French so good at this genre of music?

[@ramboti6402]

Heard of Fixions? Also french, darksynth artist.

[@jasonmacqueen1017]

and black metal too....

[@waveculture9457]

Wice is danish. Waveshaper is swedish. Droid Bishop is american, and so on. Come on, it's not just us ! :-)

[@atlasrules87]

@@waveculture9457 i mean... carpenter brut perturbator dan terminus and ignoring synthwave, you've got daft punk, M83 and more

[@waveculture9457]

@@atlasrules87 you're not wrong of course. But some of my personnal favorite synthwave artist are not french. Even though there are a lot of awesome french artists in this genre.

[@Kruegernator123]

I was just thinking to myself, "I really miss Dan Terminus. I wonder if he will ever drop a new album soon?" Sure enough, he did!

[@vortexschmidt.3252]

Remember, were not really alive. Were full force of live.

[@MrPoogly]

This guy's stuff always revitalizes you with energy

[@Dan_Roland]

Listened to this while reading Berserk, and I have to say it’s a fine combo.

[@kyrozudesoya1829]

CHRISTMAS CAME EARLY

[@Miakhano]

Interesting sound! Quite unique. Very powerful, and sometimes I hear some breakbeat sounds, but sometimes I recognize some darkwave theme.

[@kjleitch]

I think all of Dan Terminus synthesizer music is great. He ranks high with others like Holon, Sylac, Dense, just to name a few...

[@inthrallmusic]

Glad i didn't miss the last call folks

[@dariuszkwietnioczub]

Old good vibes, Prodigy and 90's style alike. Sounds great.

[@msagro2367]

This album is beyond good. It's familiar, yet brand new. Dark and gritty, yet soothing and beautiful while still being punchy and action packed. Dan Terminus has always had a special place in my heart for having such a unique sound in a sea of similarity. "Last Call For All Passengers" has taken my love, and respect for this artist to new heights. I'm honestly having trouble putting into words the way parts of this album made me feel, it's like it reminded me of sounds I had forgotten I wanted to hear.

[@mariochainsaw]

after a few listens now and i can say its a juxtaposition of badassery and beautiful soundscapes, masterpiece! contender for AOTY imo!!

[@jonscott2827]

OHHHHHHHH NO FUCKING WAAAAAAAAY I FOUND A DAN TERMINUS ALBUM THE. DAY. IT. WAS. RELEASED.

[@Scickz]

Pumped about this release. Woke up at 5am to listen!

[@_Angelo_Alves_]

Usually i don´t comment, but this one... OMFG! What is this!? If we could generate energy from audio waves, this album would power humanity by itself without any other power supply! Thank you so much for your work Dan!

[@bartubas1958]

Holy shit Ruins is amazing

[@guillermobolasdemadera345]

Amigo Dan... "Gracias por tanto, perdón por tan poco".

[@esnobofficial]

Recomienda Almbunes porfa

[@alixkilgannon4146]

Inhert may have just passed Ruins for me, I love that vibe sooo much 😍

[@Counterbalance_]

Mind-blowing! Dan Terminus did it again! What a remarkable talent.

[@FirearmEnthusiast]

A B A T T O I R

[@mr.maverick700]

amazing melodies

[@pharfaduke]

Since there hasn't been any good Synthwave/Darksynth release this year, this one requires perfection, but i have faith in this guy

[@mothermushroom_]

sorry guy but youre hella surface tier if you havent hear any good shit this year

[@rfui7675]

Look for sequencer by mega drive

[@StarvingBum]

Is this a joke? A lot of amazing darksynth has come out this year. Try Vile Candy (album) by Surgeryhead and come back to me if you want more.

[@Turboviikinki]

@@mothermushroom_ Can you name some of the best darksynth albums of 2020 / 2019?

[@mothermushroom_]

@@Turboviikinki Oh hell yeah I can Acryl Madness - Void Entropy Acryl Madness - Extending Through Hell Daniel Jackson - Origin Aeronexus & MASKED - Cosmic Calamity Synthspiria - The Mind of H.P. Lovecraft Synthspiria - Tokyo Crisis Dream Reaper - Liminality Hubrid - Cosmic Memories 2 Perhopes - Demence Humanity in Decay - SEED King Stephen - The Midnight Ghost Fixions - Dark Days Hubrid - Auto-Dissection We Are Magonia - The Living Will Envy The Dead Dav Drallion - Holy Wrath Street Cleaner - Annihilation Alex & Tokyo Rose - Akuma II Some parts of ULTRAKILL: INFINITE HYPERDEATH Sigilburner - The Brand Sigilburner - Umbra Some parts of the No More Heroes: Travis Strikes Again OST Perhopes - Demence Surgeryhead - Vile Candy Dude I could go on for fucking ever, this isn't even scratching the surface..

[@JonnyHorseman]

"I love horses" -Ellis, L4D2

[@ginna-h2b]

8:23 I'm addicted to this

[@HookahOtaku]

DAN JUST DID AN AMAZING COMEBACK OF SOUND! HOLY SHIT THIS RELEASE IS EPIC!

[@zevss18]

Good Damn Terminus, extintion all the human being ....

[@morningrog1943]

Whole album is fire 🔥

[@dextercarrie8131]

Great album art and even better music inside.

[@Jack_The_Lad]

The time has come and so have I.

[@KristofDE]

Love it! It's different than his previous works, and in a good way. I like the Prodigy-like vibes of this one!

[@Nico-rw2tl]

Dan Terminus, le mec qui ne sait pas comment rater un album

[@truesoundwave]

This is art.

[@friendlybullet943]

This album fucking hits HARD. This is incredible, gonna be bumpin' this one for a good while.

[@alejandrolopezp.9027]

i have waited so many time for hearing the teaser song

[@sqwk1492]

Album of the year

[@whatevsimbulletproof]

I'll remember 2020 as the year Dan delivered

[@rojasluis8782]

Amazing work from Dan Terminus

[@imperiusvogt9740]

Once again, another killer album. Been waiting for this to drop.

[@KingThrillgore]

Well I like it. Its like Dan did a line of mescaline with The Prodigy and Autechre.

[@hallristinger]

I wish i had more than one like to give.

[@severngamingnetwork]

DIS...ALBUM. Banger after banger

[@polreamonn]

Multitude is where it's at peeps.

[@Tomshaaaa]

Absolute banger of an album :)

[@samu_eln1nja]

legendary

[@Bstrike69]

Just a huge thank you for this DT ")

[@StarvingBum]

Love Dan, he has made some of the best albums I have ever listened to. stratospheric cannon symphony is literally one of my top 10 albums of all time... I just can not get into this at all. I am sure this is appealing to those into drum and bass style stuff, but those who are looking for those majestic sounds that warp you into another realm look elsewhere, this album isnt it. Not a bad album, just not what I was looking for from him. Still a thumbs up though!

[@coxeruntquefarinam2907]

Give it some more time, I think it's great in the same way his previous albums were. There are some unusual tracks, a lot of experimentation (not that it's new for Dan Terminus), but also some "majestic sounds that warp you into another realm" like Inhert (9:49).

[@quavergonzalez4710]

Horses for courses.

[@jacobkruse1495]

@@quavergonzalez4710 I'm still cackling in my chair at the hoofstep comment. 10/10.

[@YABUKIJOE2077]

expected response coming from a city slicker. anyways back to horses bros

[@quavergonzalez4710]

@@jacobkruse1495 neigh lad

[@justinwolz4932]

Ruins has a hard ass, slowed down Prodigy vibe that I dig immensely.

[@MikaelMarius]

Sweet! My playlist for the next two weeks is here.

[@kenswireart88]

Wasn't expecting that first track. Solid.

[@iamkablam8096]

After all this time, he’s still going!!!!!

[@richardlion6433]

All this time? It´s not like say Metallica who has put out stuff for soon 40 years...or?

[@iamkablam8096]

@@richardlion6433 good point, dammit Dan Terminus! Why have you only been doing this for almost 10 years and not 40+ years?!?! Answer me dammit!

[@jdbtracker]

@@iamkablam8096 I'm working on it! I have to survive the onslaught for the experience and intense musical pro creativity

[@gengraded]

Please come back to Salt Lake City, Utah USA, when it is safe. Was great to talk to you.

[@ElazarY]

Now this… this is what I’ve been wanting from his music for all these years.

[@seguralimondavidabsalon8540]

The master deliversssssss

[@luridus584]

God this is so good

[@cyberspetsnaz]

2020 instant AOTY

[@KaizoSan]

Énorme album, j avais tellement hâte. Pas déçu, je l écoute en boucle. T es le meilleur, devant Carpenter Brut, Fixions, Perturbator...j espère pouvoir écouter ces nouveaux sons en concert ✌

[@Nico-rw2tl]

J'aime énormément Dan Terminus et il fait parti du top des artistes qui représente le genre, si tant est que ce soit un genre plus qu'une expérience musicale... Mais je pense qu'il y a un taf encore supérieur chez ceux que tu as cité, notamment Perturbator qui est je trouve hors catégorie, rien qu'à voir New Model...

[@THE-WUMPUS]

Worth the wait, welcome back 🤘🏽

[@alanr5497]

I LOVE DAN TERMINUUUUS!

[@brucefitzgerald1983]

INCREDIBLE!!!! We've been waiting for this album for years, I'm so fuckin stooooooookedddd!!!!!!!!!

[@LachesisMusic2]

so fucking under-loved. GIVE THIS ALBUM THE ATTENTION IT DESERVES!!! Best terminus album maybe ever.

[@caad5258]

All aboard!

[@quavergonzalez4710]

6:52 utter bliss!

[@beataspiewakjonsson1749]

Love this 🖤

[@mariochainsaw]

lets f@%kin go!!!

[@Cobrass67]

Stunning

[@neonstranger6529]

Amazing album

[@depressivetangela2033]

Yes!!

[@ToiRChannel]

It's here aaaaaah!!!

[@CYBERSTORMOFFICIAL]

What a good finding!

[@88XxMIKEZxX88]

Awesome!! it was so keep!

[@carrion1234]

my body is ready

[@iliaromenskyi4078]

не слушаю подобную музыку но это даже понравилось

[@VanwolfsterLycan]

HELL YES!

[@gaijin3405]

Idk what they're saying in multitude but it sounds deep

[@surrealorb8325]

5:02 YO ANYBODY ELSE HEAR WRATH OF CODE HERE?!

[@PatrickReilley13]

This is fucking ferocious

[@userunknown4438]

Дан терминус вернулся!

[@bakmei6745]

Most original synth album in long time I really like this direction kudos Dan very nice. I'm tired of synth that just sounds like farts edited together.

[@atoumunitek8303]

Saved and Shared

[@namelesstemple]

This is great.

[@zatoka08]

F I R E

[@venomsward5497]

Oh my god!

[@Shuxer59]

Решил подступиться к этому год спустя. Стало ещё больнее( Пошёл переслушивать Wrath of Code

[@swires1]

When Prodigy & Ulver have a child

[@navarroguard7911]

Oh yes

[@polreamonn]

Formidable

[@alskapone95]

Quand je pense que je t'ai raté à St-Germain-en-Laye..! J'espère avoir une nouvelle occasion ;)

[@maximef.994]

Shit, I've been bingingDarksynth for about a month now and I was wondering if anything would be released soon... That's awesome ! :D

[@CockatooDude]

Get ready to wait another 3 years for a new album lol.

[@maximef.994]

@@CockatooDude any artists to suggest for the long wait ? :) I've been mainly listenning to perturbator and carpenter brut

[@CockatooDude]

@@maximef.994 To be fair I was somewhat joking, there are a lot of smaller artists who release albums in the meantime. I guess you want more fast paced aggressive music, in which case I can recommend Street Cleaner, his new album is pretty good. One of my personal favorites in addition to Dan Terminus of course is Irving Force, check out his album titled Godmode, it's great. There's a few other artists as well who I like, but generally they are ones who make much calmer, more atmospheric music rather than this fast paced stuff.

[@maximef.994]

@@CockatooDude thanks for the advice, i'll give it a go ! :)

[@henrydupuis5648]

@@maximef.994 Give The Algorithm a listen my broski yeehaw yo!

[@swankypants9366]

WOOO

[@jacobkruse1495]

Abattoir slaps