Band Profile – Tera Melos
Band Profile – Tera Melos

Band Profile – Tera Melos

Tera Melos has ferociously explored the outer limits of bizarre time signatures and unhinged thrash since its self-titled 2005 debut. But the band’s forthcoming full-length, Patagonian Rats, out in September, is more akin to the type of freak-pop perversion dished out by daring pioneers like Devo and The Flaming Lips.
Whether Tera Melos’ experimental rock can achieve that type of longevity is up to the Sacramento, California-based band, and to you. But the group certainly knows how to make a strange impression. – Wired.com

Melding the aggression of punk with the technical intricacies of prog rock, math rock trio Tera Melos use jerky shifts in time signatures and disjointed guitar noodling that bears a close resemblance to Don Caballero and Hella. Like their counterparts in instrumental rock, finger-tapped guitar parts are the centerpiece, complemented by angular bass riffs and splintered spaz-jazz drumming, but contrasting dynamics are a bigger focus of the band’s songs, with ambient electronics and sparse vocal lines occasionally incorporated into the interludes to offset some of the more convoluted and noisier sections. – All Music Guide

Bio
Tera Melos is a trio out of Roseville, California that lists Black Flag, Flaming Lips and Devo among their influences, but the music that they play belongs to their own (and clearly unidentifiable) genre.
Since 2005, the band recorded one full-length and numerous splits, 7″ records and even an EP which included Beach Boys, Clash and Pixies covers (they also did a blistering live cover of Pantera’s “Strength Beyond Strength”, as seen in the video below).  Their second full-length – “Patagonian Rats” – is scheduled for September release via Sargent House label and can be heard its its entirety on TM’s Bandcamp page.
Current Line-Up:
Nathan Latona
Nick Reinhart (Bygones)
John Clardy
Former Members:
Jeff Worms
Vince Rogers
Download:
Frozen Zoo – Free single from their upcoming album “Patagonian Rats”
Idioms Vol.1 – An EP of covers of originals by Beach Boys, Clash, Pixies, Rivers Cuomo and Polaris
Sargent House Sampler – includes Tera Melos track “A Spoonful Of Slurry”, as well as 11 other tracks by RX Bandits, Bygones, Fang Island and many others.
Discography:
Tera Melos CD (Springman, 2005 / Sargent House, 2010)
Complex Full Of Phantoms (split with By The End Of Tonight) LP (Temporary Residence Limited, 2007)
Drugs To The Dear Youth 10″ (Sargent House, 2009)
Idioms, Vol.1 7″ (Sargent House, 2009)
Patagonian Rats CD (Sargent House, 2010)
Compilation Tracks:
“Last Smile For Jaron” on Sargent House Sampler CD (Sargent House, 2010)
“A Spoonful Of Slurry” on Sargent House Sampler MP3 (Sargent House, 2010)
Further Info: Official Site / Last.fm / MySpace / Twitter

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