REVIEW: Terra Atlantica - Oceans

The sea is calm, and the winds breathe gently in an all-encompassing tranquility. There is nary a ship in sight, and you're stranded on a desolate shoreline, watching as the wreckage of your own vessel is slowly claimed by the depths. You resign yourself to your fate, and realise nobody is coming to save you. That's when you hear it – raucous cheering, and the echo of sea shanties in the distance. On the horizon sails your salvation: TERRA ATLANTICA. The four-piece crew, hailing from the home of power metal, Germany, are a band that knows what works, and stay in that well-charted territory with each new release. After all, if this stretch of the sea has more treasure to give, why sail away? This is their fourth release adhering to their recipe of success – classic power metal with a coat of pirate-themed paint – and it promises more gold than you could ever unearth from a buried chest. This is Oceans.

We start off with a gentle piano melody in Ocean Fever, before our captain and vocalist, TRISTAN HARDERS, recites a short oath to the tides that lay in wait for him and his crew. The transition from grand inspiring overture to dramatic and imposing instrumental passage is as fluid as the waves, and gives a perfect segue into Back To The Sea. Already we're being dragged along in the wake of their ship by intense speed passages and dynamic vocals that inject us with real seafaring energy. It's a perfect introduction to our musical journey, though it does admittedly lack that memorable quality until the eponymous chorus kicks in. Hoist The Sail makes immediate amends for that, a jaunty tune immediately grabbing our attention with DAWID WIECZOREK's catchy guitar riffs and JULIAN PRÜFER's backbone of a bassline already intense before NICO HAUSCHILDT brings his rolling drum rhythm into the mix. There's a subtle instrumental element of this track that adds much to their themes – as we pass the halfway mark, we're treated to what sounds like a pan flute melody, and it begins to feel truly as if it was captured from the golden age of piracy. This is intensified when the backing vocals from WIECZOREK and HAUSCHILDT kick in and almost bring the song into sea shanty territory, though they don't quite breach the line.

Caribbean Shores is a definite standout on this release, a track that intertwines electric axe riffs with exotic Caribbean drumbeats, an eclectic mix that has the crew fully embracing their cultural influences. There's a bright atmosphere that breathes through this track, emphasised with the calls of seabirds lurking in the sea-themed backing soundscape, and it has us picturing ourselves relaxing on the sun-soaked islands HARDERS sings about. Turn Of The Tide, however, has us returning to the intensity from earlier, and channelling that into the idea of a nautical battlefield. Our crew is out for blood, and nobody will stand in their path. Through The Water And The Waves carries those themes into our a further glimpse of something heavier lurking beneath the waves, grimy riffs backed by resounding chants that warn us the crew are a force to be feared. For a moment, an opponent joins the fight: enter PETE SIELCK from the band IRON SAVIOR. In keeping with the darkness-infused rhythms, he growls his way through the lyrics and offers a striking contrast to the more traditional vocals of our captain. This, in ways other than just the track name, feels like a play on DRAGONFORCE's iconic Through the Fire and Flames, but to their credit, it works perfectly independently.

Tranquil, stripped-back guitar strums soon lead us gently into oceanic hymn territory with Where My Brothers Await. It's a track laced with vulnerability that reaches for the heart strings and pulls on them gently, a memorial for fallen brothers and crewmates lost in the endless search for the sunken city of Atlantis. Said kingdom makes an appearance when our next track enters the fray: Land Of Submarines, a track with an insanely catchy chorus referring to the eponymous lost kingdom, and a groovy bassline to back it. A talent TERRA ATLANTICA have is that they're able to not just perfectly execute the frenetic passages inherent in the genre, but pull off beautiful power ballads too. This is especially evident in Raven In The Dark, with its sliding-scale vocals and steady, deliberate rhythm sections.

To The Realms Of Gods promises glory in eternity, a treasure greater than any mortal possession. The instrumentation gains an eerie edge, and has us pondering in deep suspense – have the crew gained more than they bargained for? This dangerous journey is reaching its peak, and it's only now we realise fully the magnificent scope of their odyssey. Grand finale Oceans Of Eternity has the crew landing on a much more classic-sounding power metal sound, reminiscent of early AVANTASIA. This ten-minute epic is the culmination of their perilous search for the kingdom lost to the waves, and it feels fittingly massive. Doom-laden chants fill the space between lyrics and instrumental passages – of which there are many. For many long stretches in this song, HARDERS takes a step back and the instruments take a much-deserved place at the forefront. As the track begins to wrap up, we're stripped back to vocals and a soft orchestral swell, soon joined by acoustic guitar. The drums kick in, and emotions rise from the depths in us as the frenzied tones of guitar return for a final send-off. It's a bittersweet ending – the journey is over, but it inspires adventure in us. A pounding drumbeat brings us to the very end, and we fade out on crashing waves.

While Oceans does little to step away from the formula that the crew have cultivated, they have proven that sometimes territory already charted can still yield new treasures. They tread the shallow waters of serenity with their stripped-back serenades, and dive deep into turbulent tidal waves with their emotional power ballads and orchestral metal epics. One of the more unique emerging bands in the power metal sphere, TERRA ATLANTICA are definitely one to watch – point your telescope at the horizon, and keep an eye out for where they might go next.

Score: 8/10

Oceans will be released on September 26th 2025 via Scarlet Records.

Words: Naomi Colliar Duff

Photos: Terra Atlantica