Review: “Cretaceous Carnage” by Terrordactyl

You may know him from the trail of the dead or one of numerous projects including The Senate or Wraith but Terrordactyl is the solo endeavour of Raymond Martin. His first endeavour, EP “Extinction Event” arrived in March 2022 labeled as Dinocore, a hybrid blend of Deathcore, Death Metal and Metalcore with lyrical themes from the Jurassic period. Three years on and Martin, who nails from Sydney Australia has changed his game and does everything in house, for the first time producing, writing, recording, mixing and mastering the entirety of his sophomore EP. Only the cover art, created by Ali Maskuri and a trio of guest vocal appearances have been imported…

Like Vast Slug before them Terrordactyl ask the question “who needs a drummer anyway?” as the computer aided equivalent of a flesh and bone musician goes into overdrive, blasting it’s way out of trouble like as incendiary opening cut “Must Go Faster” perforates the ear drums. An explosive sub 60 second cut, it demonstrates just how much audio violence you can shoehorn into that time should you so desire. It’s like your skull is tarmac and Martin’s music is a metaphorical jackhammer. Naturally things slow down, as gunshots ring out and a venomous verse pierces cerebral cortex but it’s far from over. “Regina” finds Creature of Krocophile fame lending his throat and the duo go for the jugular, tearing chunks out of the discerning listener with vicious barks and bites. Little nuances begin to burst out of the mix from underneath the distorted guitars as the duo see who can reach the lowest of death growl before some Slam inspired moments creep in. An ambient interlude piece might be the last thing you would expect but “Save_Room-001” is that cut, an eerie, haunting pattern that serves as an introduction to title track “Cretaceous Carnage“. That finds Preston Ainsworth of Mudcrab join the party as the second guest vocalist and it slaps harder than a woman scorned. Downtempo Deathcore chugs are wrapped in digital layers of electronicore with a video game nostalgia as bones break under the weight of the brutal onslaught. An old school Nokia ringtone ushers in the savage sonic abrasions of “Asset 87” as Sidney Paech of Ecydsis roars over countless breakdowns, a surprise technical solo appearing out of nowhere and disappearing just as quickly. Samples add that nostalgic touch before… You’ve guessed it. “Barney, The Dinosaw.” is a cheeky cover in full on Slam Metal of the fuzzy characters theme song. It’s like the adult horror film version of the original with the classic keys and samples enhancing the Mosh pit worthy energy [7/10]

Track Listing

1. Must Go Faster
2. Regina (ft. Creature Of Krocophile)
3. Save_Room-001
4. Cretaceous Carnage (ft. Preston Ainsworth Of Mudcrab)
5. Asset 87 (ft. Sidney Paech Of Ecydsis)
6. Barney, The Dinosaw.

“Cretaceous Carnage” by Terrordactyl is out 16th March 2025 and is available over at bandcamp.