Teratanthropos

While chatting about the up-and-coming Denver death-metal band Teratanthropos, drummer Nate Sampson takes a moment to explain the meaning of the group's name. “‘Teratanthropos’ is two Greek words stuck together. ‘Terat,’ meaning ‘monster,’ and ‘anthropos,’ meaning ‘man.’ Basically, we are insinuating that humans are monsters,” he says.

The four-piece band is somewhat of a man-made monster itself. Vocalist Elias Addison and guitarist William Stibbs started Teratanthropos in 2019 under the name Neonaticidal Mastication. Playing breakneck grindcore, Neonaticidal Mastication released a five-song demo in 2019. The short outbursts showcase programmed drums and no bass, but the duo always had plans to up the ante.

“We started as a grind-slam project, but we knew that we were going to go a more technical route eventually — but we wanted to put out some grind stuff just to get our names out there and get people listening to our music,” Addison explains, adding he met Sampson, formerly of local bands When Darkness Falls and Katalysk, at an Aborted show, before recruiting bassist Tiernan Pfaus to round out the lineup in 2021.

Following the name change, Teratanthropos has released a couple of songs and abandoned the quick-hitting grind template for more technically proficient death metal in the same vein as Origin and Cattle Decapitation.

Now the monster has taken to roaming the land, with the Denver death-metallers currently on tour in support of Shadow of Intent. Enterprise Earth, Inferi and Wormhole are also on the bill. Check them all out on Wednesday, October 12, at the Oriental Theater.

Teratanthropos is also working on its first EP, which is set to be released later this year, Addison says. “I would say that there are definitely things that we want to do that we haven’t done yet musically. I would say that the EP that we’re currently recording is a much better example of what Teratanthropos is. We are more along the lines of technical, brutal death metal,” he explains.

Stibbs, who also plays in Katalysk, is producing the record. “We are still expanding. We are still trying to find news way to make songs that still sound like us at our core,” he says. “There is going to be a lot of speed. There is going to be a lot of headbanging. A lot of brutal [death metal] and a lot of technicality. Teratanthropos, on this next EP, is not going to have anything that you would not expect. However, it is going to be by far the best thing that we could put out in this moment. Personally, I just think it’s really impressive, what we’re putting out.”

The musicians give credit to the Denver scene and the recent resurgence in the death-metal subgenre for helping them spread the word thus far, especially since they haven’t put out a proper release.

“I’m really excited to see it. I think as a band, we have been really fortunate to get some momentum and support from the local scene,” Pfaus says, adding that Teratanthropos plans to “ride this wave.”

“I have definitely seen a bit of a rise in the local community as far as an appreciation for all kinds of death metal. I love that Denver has turned into a bit of a smorgasbord of tremendous fucking talent among all of these people. It’s amazing to be a part of this community,” Addison adds.

But until Teratanthropos unleashes unholy mayhem on a physical release, the best way to experience the behemoth is in-person live.

“What we go for in a live setting is really just in-your-face extremity and brutality. Trying not to let the audience breathe, because we don’t get a chance to do that either,” Addison says.

Pfaus ominously adds that unknowing viewers should “buckle their seat belts” whenever Teratanthropos takes the stage.

[Note: The band was just opening for Shadow of Intent, Enterprise Earth, Inferi and Wormhole on October 12th. The tour in reference was a small tour with Cronos Compulsion, running October 6-9th.] - Westword (article in October 2022)