Album Review: Ter – El Darrer Galop

Band: Ter
Title: El Darrer Galop
Label: independent
Release date:  November  20th,  2025
Country: Spain
Format reviewed: High-Quality Digital Recording 

Album Review: Ter – El Darrer Galop by Sílvia

Nil Lapedra, the only member of the Catalan band Ter, is originally from the Camprodon Valley, an area of ​​the Pyrenees that hosts the first kilometers of the Ter river since its source. I imagine that he must feel very rooted to his surroundings to call his musical project with the name of that river. And in fact, in his songs we find a special emotion that can only come from feeling strongly connected to nature. The sense of belonging is noticed everywhere…

“El darrer galop” (“The last gallop”) is venturous, different from the previous two releases by Ter. It’s an album that mixes Folk with Black Metal in a delicious and epic way, with intense atmospheres and a great echo of the bass, the instrument responsible for the devastating lows that fills these eight tracks. I’m mesmerized with its almost hypnotic resonance. Nil incorporates some other instruments (keyboards, accordion, acoustic guitar) to achieve that sense of epicness, of tradition. He does the vocals and plays everything, except drums, which are courtesy of master Alfred Berengena, who is also in charge of the production, mixing and mastering of the album. The fantastic violin is played by Marta Pairó, who’s responsible for the female vocals. 

Some of the lyrics are inspired by historical Catalan battles, others by the nature (not necessarily gentle or welcoming) where Nil has his home. He sings in Catalan, his mother tongue, and the storytelling conveys echoes of battles and ancient times, and a strong energy that comes from wild nature.

Nil’s clean voice is resonant and has a point of severity, I really love the way he does the choruses and how perfectly the different voices harmonize. In contrast, his raspy screams are menacing, fierce, and you can feel in them some hints of the wild nature from his surroundings. Female vocals are gentle, almost ethereal in the choruses, and always beautiful.

There is a pure Black Metal song dedicated to a natural phenomenon specific to the Pyrenees. It is titled “Torb” (“Blizzard”); it’s a violent snowstorm that leaves no visibility and causes the temperature to come down rapidly. With a dark and threatening atmosphere, and an overwhelming energetic display by the instruments, it conveys a feeling of anguish accentuated by the relentless drums and the resonating bass pulse. The cold and sharp riffs make the blood freeze in your veins, and Nil’s voice goes from savage screams of anguish to the defiant invocation of the meteorological phenomenon, like craving for it. Alfred Berengena’s drums are masterful, like a steamroller, destroying any vestige of sanity that you might have left when you listen to it… The moment when guitars and drums mark the deep beating of a heart, expectant, anguished, is when you realize that you cannot escape the blizzard. The harmonies of the guitars are very atmospheric, they penetrate to the marrow of the bone and paralyze you. 

What I find more fascinating about this album is the organic way in which Black Metal blends with folk elements. Some songs are more “gentle”, like the opener “El Darrer Galop”, that runs at a mid-paced tempo, with clean vocals and beautiful choruses, and incorporating acoustic guitar; it’s a Medieval tale coming from the past. There are other songs more intense: “Sota l’Ombra dels Tells” (“Under the Shade of the Linden Trees”) starts acoustic and calm, but then it explodes, and the frantic drums and the constant buzz of guitar and the deep bass turns this track into a firestorm. The folk elements in this song are simply delicious. And “Flames a Camprodon” (“Flames in Camprodon”), the closing track, has a triumphant feel and incorporates stunning choruses and harmonies, along with some harsh screams and relentless drums that lead the listener to the grand finale, epic like no other. 

Ter has made a daring change in their style and I must say, I love its result… as I love all their previous music aswell. 9/10

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9/10  Epic Storm
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