Released By: Scarlet Records
Release Date: Out Now!
Genre: Symphonic Power Metal
Links: https://www.terra-atlantica.
Line Up:
Tristan Harders – Vocals, Guitar
Dawid Wieczorek – Guitar, Backing Vocals
Julian Prüfer – Bass
Nico Hauschildt – Drums, Backing Vocals
Tracklist:
1. Ocean Fever
2. Back to the Sea
3. Hoist the Sail
4. Caribbean Shores
5. Turn of the Tide
6. Through the Water and the Waves
7. Where My Brothers Await
8. Land of Submarines
9. Raven in the Dark
10. To the Realm of Gods
11. Oceans of Eternity
Sometimes, I enjoy listening to more epic, complex music, while other times it can be enjoyable to simply listen to something that’s an absolute blast from start to finish, where you can turn your brain off and just have fun. German power metal band Terra Atlantica generally lean more towards the latter, offering up their own brand of epic, super catchy and addictive symphonic power metal, while also at times writing some impressive epic length tracks. With their recently released fourth album, Oceans, the band has taken their sound to the next level, delivering one of the most wildly entertaining power metal albums I’ve heard so far in 2025, as well as one of the year’s most memorable albums I’ve heard all around!
Despite some lineup changes over the years, with band leader Tristan Harders frequently swapping musicians in and out, the band’s sound has remained largely the same from album to album, with each album showing bits of evolution, while sticking to their core sound. The same is true of Oceans, which continues with the brand of epic, yet incredibly fun, catchy and melodic brand of symphonic power metal the band has been playing since their 2017 debut, A City Once Divine. There’s a nice mix of guitars, keyboards and orchestral elements, with most tracks having some nice melodic lead guitar work and bursts of heavy riffs, as well as a fair amount of keyboards and tons of symphonic arrangements, to help make everything more epic and cinematic. Some tracks go for a more straight-forward approach, while others go for a much larger scale sound, with the orchestral elements and metal instruments blending together perfectly to create something special.
Previous albums had some folk influence, but I notice them far more on Oceans than ever before, with some tracks going into full on folk metal territory, without sacrificing the power metal or symphonic elements. Indeed, there’s quite a bit going on, with some tracks fusing together several different instruments and musical styles, but the band always pulls it off perfectly. At the same time, for an album that can at times be epic and adventurous, I wouldn’t call it excessive, as there are also times where the band dials things back a bit, and it occasionally even feels like they’re deliberately holding certain parts of the music back, so they can bring them back in at the most opportune time. There’s a nice variety of tracks here, with some more straight-forward symphonic power metal, a couple more mid-paced, folk infused tracks, a traditional folk sounding ballad, and a spectacular 10 minute epic to close things out. The album has a perfect flow, offering up the perfect mix of intense tracks and calmer tracks, to make sure the listener stays engaged throughout. Of all albums I’ve heard so far this year, this may be the best paced one of all, as the band never stays at one tempo for too long, constantly changing things up, while at the same time, still providing tons of high energy, up tempo sections for power metal fans to enjoy. Performances are strong across the board, with multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Tristan Harders obviously being the star, though lead guitarist Dawid Wieczorek and drummer Nico Hauschildt also impress. The latter is often asked to go all out, with some rather intense, frantic drumming, though he does dial it back a bit at times, on slower tracks, and his performance is rather minimal on some tracks, but he does an excellent job of providing some excellent rhythms with his drums. Harders’ instrumental work is great, but his vocals are his biggest strength. He has a deep voice, and at times he can get a bit animated, but he’s also very smooth with his delivery, and he especially excels on some absolutely fantastic choruses, with some very inventive vocal melodies. There’s also some excellent backing vocals and choral vocals throughout the album, which sometimes even take over lead vocals for a while, and they’re used brilliantly. Production is excellent, as well, with everything sounding absolutely perfect, and nothing ever gets lost in the mix, even on the busier tracks.
The album opens with a brief intro track, with bits of narration, to help set up the epic seafaring narrative, as well as a brief instrumental tease at the closing track. The first full length track is “Back to the Sea”, an intense, speedy symphonic power metal track, which kicks off with some epic symphonic arrangements and an infectious “Go!” from Harders. There’s some excellent neoclassical shredding throughout, clearly referencing some sort of classical piece I only partially recognize, and the track moves at a fast pace throughout, with the chorus in particular going all out with some epic vocal melodies and a huge orchestral sound. At times, the choral vocals fully take over, especially towards the end, and they sound absolutely incredible. There’s a fantastic instrumental section in the middle, starting with another classical reference I vaguely recognize. They start this section out with symphonic elements, before slowly adding in guitars and drums, and then there’s an excellent, folk-tinged guitar solo, followed by a brief reprise of the classical piece. It’s a fantastic track overall, and one of my favorites on the album.
Next is one of the singles, “Hoist the Sail”, a more folk infused track, which uses a mix of guitar, keyboards, and flute to create some excellent folk melodies. The main melody is instantly infectious, sounding like a classic folk piece, while the metal instrumentation is at times fairly minimal, especially during the verses, where the vocals and folk elements dominate. The chorus is upbeat and catchy, with fantastic lyrics and vocal melodies, and the track has an excellent rhythm. The highlight, though, comes in the middle, when the band throws in the classic folk track “The Rake Hornpipe”, for an insanely catchy section, and the way they recreate it with guitars sounds fantastic. The final run through the chorus is more fun than ever, and just from watching the band performing the track in the music video, it’s clear they were having one hell of a good time with it. Another single is next with “Caribbean Shores”, a track which fluidly mixes together speedy passages and calmer passages. It’s a fairly upbeat track overall, with a strong Caribbean flavor to the music at times, using some rather unique regional sounds to create a distinct atmosphere. It’s a rather fun, playful track, with the verses being fairly subdued, before exploding towards the end, while the chorus goes full blast, and is super fun and explosive. There’s a fun instrumental section, where the more unique elements fully take over for a bit, and it kinda reminds me of a certain track from the most recent Twilight Force album, but with a more electronic sound from the keys Either way, it’s certainly a fun, unique track!
The band returns to more traditional fare with “Turn of the Tide”, which features some excellent melodic guitar work and frantic, rapid fire drums, as the pace is relentless during the verses and chorus. with very little time for a breather. The verses are fast and heavy, but the chorus only gets more intense, mixing in excellent melodic guitar work, epic cinematic orchestras and super intense drums, to go along with some rather intense vocals. It’s a very high energy track, while still being super fun and catchy. Things do slow down briefly in the middle, with a nice acoustic guitar driven bridge, which leads into a nice instrumental section, as well as some Iron Maiden inspired “Ooooooohhhhhh” choral vocals. This leads into a thrashy instrumental section, and the track never slows down again after that. While the previous track briefly hinted at thrash elements, “Through the Water and the Waves” goes a step further, with the main riff being quite thrashy, and there’s some more thrashy guitar work during the verses. The band does a nice job of alternating between fast and slower sections during the verses, starting off intense, but then calming down a bit with epic gang vocals, leading into the chorus which in turn starts off slow but picks up momentum and intensity as it goes on, with some excellent vocal melodies and even some brief growls at the end. Iron Savior vocalist Piet Sielck provides an extra jolt of energy during the second verse, which is more intense than the first, and then the instrumental section after the second chorus is also quite thrashy.
Following a couple more intense tracks, the band decides to slow things down with “Where My Brothers Await”, an acoustic guitar led ballad, which feels like a traditional folk song, as well as the kind of song you’d hear in a tavern. It’s a very beautiful track, with a melancholic feel to the lyrics, as well as some absolutely gorgeous melodies, from both the vocals and the instruments. Once again, backing vocals are used spectacularly, at times taking over, especially during the chorus. The instrumental section is calm and folk infused, which serves as a nice change of pace from most tracks on the album. Lead single “Land of Submarines” is next, opening with a brief tease at the chorus, followed by some excellent melodic lead guitar work and symphonic elements. The verses start off calm, before exploding with heavy guitar work and more excellent choral vocals. The chorus is once again very high energy, very melodic and catchy, with intense drums and vocals. It’s one of the more straight-forward tracks here, though the instrumental section does feel rather playful and epic.
My favorite normal length track on the album is “Raven in the Dark”, which starts off with a beautiful acoustic guitar section, with light orchestral backing. Harders enters in with soft vocals, accompanied by soft drums, and just as it feels like the track might be a ballad, heavy guitars kick in and the chorus switches to a more upbeat, epic sound. It’s one of the catchiest, most melodic choruses on the album, and what makes it so amazing is how it manages to be so instantly memorable and energetic, despite not being even slightly repetitive. The lyrics are absolutely brilliant, and they have a heavy melancholic feel. The instrumental section starts off soft, before exploding with some excellent guitar work, and then the track ends with an excellent reprise of the chorus. One last calm before the storm comes in the form of “To the Realm of Gods”, which feels like more of a mood setting track, while still being excellent in its own right. It moves at a relaxed pace, with a nice mix of rather subdued guitars and epic symphonic elements, which definitely give the track a cinematic feel. The verses are very laid back, while the chorus is more epic, but still rather dialed back compared to other tracks on the album. The final run through the chorus is amazing, though, with both lead and choral vocals sounding absolutely fantastic.
Closing out the album is “Oceans of Eternity”, an adventurous 10 minute epic, which throws in a bit of everything. It opens up with a brief orchestral section, before some explosive guitars kick in, along with some intense drums and neoclassical shredding. The opening verse is speedy, and nicely mixes together guitars and orchestral elements. There’s an excellent chorus, with fantastic vocal melodies and a nice use of atmospheric keys in the background. From there, the song keeps evolving as it goes on, constantly changing, never sticking to one melody or one style for very long. Instead, it fluidly moves from one highlight to another, striking a perfect balance between giving the listener a ton of variety, while having plenty of memorable moments, which are sure to stick with the listener for a long time. I won’t go into full details, but needless to say there’s a ton of tempo changes, excellent instrumental sections, epic solos, calmer sections, and plenty of memorable vocal sections. Some sections have a strong Maiden vibe, particularly one instrumental section right around the middle. There’s also another fantastic classical reference, which I’m pretty sure is a Mozart piece, and this time they perform it mostly on guitar, and it sounds spectacular, especially when they speed it up. The highlight of the track is an absolutely beautiful acoustic section, which sounds like a ballad. There’s some excellent vocals and lyrics in this section, leading into another outstanding chorus, which only gets better a bit later on when the band performs a full on power metal version of it. The track has a lot going on, but it stays fully engaging the whole way through, and it’s easily the most impressive track the band has ever made.
Terra Atlantica have been one of my favorite bands ever since I heard their 2020 sophomore release, Age of Steam, which showed them starting to fully live up to their potential, following a promising, but flawed debut. While that and their third album, Beyond the Borders, were both fantastic, Oceans somehow manages to top both of them, with some of their most varied, most instantly addictive songwriting to date. For the most part, it’s the kind of album you can put on at any time and instantly smile, as the many catchy choruses, and impressive instrumental sections instantly sweep you away, but at the same time, it is a very well crafted album in its own right, and it ends with one of my favorite epic length power metal tracks in quite some time. Fans of the band should know what to expect, while newcomers can look forward to an excellent blend of symphonic power metal and folk, as well as some brilliantly executed neoclassical passages. Overall, it’s the band’s best release to date, as well as easily one of my top three favorites of the year, so far!
Ratings: 10/10
Written by: Travis Green
My Global Mind – Staff Writer
Travis Green is a Canadian based writer for My Global Mind, with a particular passion for power metal, as well as an interest metal in all its forms.
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