ALBUM REVIEW: Inter Terra Solis – Earth Altar/Sun Below

Split albums aren’t a common occurrence, but when they do happen, especially in the realms of psych and stoner rock, they can offer up a deeply expansive journey that explores a narrative from two different perspectives. This is certainly the case with EARTH ALTAR and SUN BELOW’s psychedelic, space, doom and stoner fuzz odyssey Inter Terra Solis. This split takes you on a vast journey across the cosmos whilst you ponder the complex labyrinth of the human psyche and its inevitable unpredictably that results in surprises of the conscious and subconscious kind. Inter Terra Solis‘ low frequencies penetrate deeply into your mind and feed your soul with luscious, fuzzy psych. 

The first half of the album is occupied by the Nova Scotian duo of Jon MacIsaac (drums, vocals) and Spencer Trout (guitars, vocals), most commonly known as EARTH ALTAR. The duo seek to leave the confines of psychedelia to ascend beyond heaviness and into the uncharted otherworld, mixing together an eclectic mix of stoner, doom, space rock, and psych rock, whilst working them into progressive song structures alongside cosmically-influenced musings. As a result of their remote hometown, EARTH ALTAR’s music is imbued by a sense of vastness and the rugged, unpredictability of nature along the Eastern Atlantic coast. 

EARTH ALTAR’s half of the album embodies this vastness and takes you on a dreamy journey through the cosmos and beyond with some unpredictability along the way. The journey begins with The Descent, a title evocative of Dante’s infamous masterpiece of poetry. Opening up in a claustrophobic manner, it eventually unfurls itself like a fine Persian rug, a rich pattern of vibrant colour that feels grounded in the present. 

As it moves into The Garden Of Earthly Delights, the album gets more progressive, as a psychedelic and hypnotic guitar and bass riff are woven together to the backdrop of warm synths, bringing up images of a vast array of colourful fauna, flora and fungi. A short interlude follows and then we enter into In The Growing Light Of Anthelion which adds some tension and more complex emotional layers whilst launching you effortlessly into the far reaches of space.

EARTH ALTAR close their half of the album with Transmutation (The Alchemist’s Dream), and SUN BELOW take over. In what seems to be a perfect meshing of styles between the two bands, the album effortlessly blends into its second half by getting fuzzier and heavier.

The self-proclaimed “sativa rock” trio SUN BELOW reside in Toronto, the capital of Ontario, Canada. Its skyline sits along Lake Ontario’s northwestern shore. With a penchant for fuzz, heavy grooves and riffs, the band’s sonic weight is tangible. Taking inspiration from the fuzzed-out spaciousness of heavy psych and stoner, mixing it with the deep, thick and weighty power of doom, SUN BELOW have honed a distinct sound alongside Lake Ontario’s glistening waters. 

SUN BELOW’s half of the album is distinctly heavier, more intense and earthy. It opens up with the colossal eight-and-a-half-minute sonic journey Red Giant. With a red giant being a luminous, red and angry star that looms close to the earth, the song channels the emotions associated with the finite nature of existence, as the star could easily swallow us whole. Serving as their interlude, Methuselah Star tells the story of HD 140283, a subgiant star about 200 light years away from the Earth slowly burning out. Despite only being two minutes long, it is a full on and intense track that leads perfectly into the album’s closing track. 

SUN BELOW ramp up the BLACK SABBATH-esque riffs and slow, distortion heavy grooves as the album closes with Gravity Tide. The song aims to chart the delicate cosmic balance of the Earth, Moon and Sun, demonstrating how fragile our existence is in this vast cosmos. Yet, this album is very easy to zone out to, where the majority is instrumental your imagination is allowed to break the confines of reality and enter into a dream world that you can explore unhindered, in vibrant colour. 

As a whole album EARTH ALTAR and SUN BELOW have explored the microcosm and the macrocosm of the universe and its unpredictable fragility. With each band showing both sides of the coin, Inter Terra Solis is a highly immersive album but also one that you can zone out to as you contemplate your existence within this vast expanse of stars, moons and planets. Utilising the strengths of both band’s styles, Inter Terra Solis is a thorough and strong collaboration between two of Canada’s upcoming and innovative stoner psych bands. 

Rating: 8/10

Inter Terra Solis is set for release on September 15th via Black Throne Productions.

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