Reviews: Project Renegade – Ultra Terra (2026)
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There is something genuinely refreshing about a band that refuses to stay inside a single metal box. With Ultra Terra, their second full-length release, Greek modern metal outfit Project Renegade takes their already established hybrid identity and pushes it further into darker, heavier, and more atmospheric territory.
Running through thirteen tracks, Ultra Terra is built on the collision of groove-driven riffs, alternative and nu-metal aggression, electronic textures, symphonic layers and powerful melodic vocals. It is a modern record by nature, but it never feels like a collection of fashionable production tricks. The electronic elements are carefully integrated into the compositions, often adding atmosphere and tension rather than simply decorating the songs.
The album immediately establishes its intentions with “23”, a track that combines weight and melody while introducing the cinematic character that runs through much of the record. “The Millennial March” follows with thick groove riffs and punchy beats, while “Apex” delivers one of the album's most explosive moments. The songwriting is particularly effective when the band allows the heavier sections to collide with huge, memorable choruses.
And then there is Marianna, whose vocals are arguably the central weapon of Project Renegade. She can move effortlessly from clean, melodic passages to much more aggressive territory, giving the songs both emotional depth and metallic bite. Tracks such as “Civil Unrest” demonstrate just how effective that contrast can be, with an immediately memorable chorus sitting comfortably alongside the band's heavier instrumentation.
The second half of Ultra Terra is where the album really starts to show its teeth. “Token” is one of the record's heaviest and most rhythmically aggressive cuts, combining crushing grooves, harsh vocals and an infectious sense of momentum. “Negative Grey” brings sharper guitar work and more dynamic shifts, while “Bloodwitch” builds its tension gradually before exploding into one of the album's strongest melodic payoffs. These are precisely the moments where Project Renegade sound most convincing: heavy without sacrificing melody, modern without becoming sterile.
The title track, “Ultra Terra”, expands the atmospheric side of the band, reinforcing the futuristic and dystopian character suggested by the album's concept. The band has described the record as a vision of humanity creating a technologically advanced world and questioning whether that future represents the dream we wanted or the nightmare we tried to escape. That idea fits naturally with the album's mixture of metallic heaviness, electronic textures and cinematic atmosphere.
What makes Ultra Terra work is its sense of identity. You can hear echoes of bands from the modern alternative, gothic and symphonic metal spectrum, but Project Renegade are not simply copying an established formula. Their combination of groove, electronics, melody and aggressive vocals gives the record its own character.
The album is not without its weaknesses. At almost 55 minutes, there are moments where the record could arguably have benefited from slightly tighter editing, particularly during the first half. Some ideas take a little longer to fully reveal themselves. Yet this becomes a minor complaint when considering the amount of variety packed into the album.
Ultimately, Ultra Terra is a confident statement from a band that clearly understands what it wants to sound like. Heavy, melodic, atmospheric and unapologetically modern, it manages to bridge the gap between accessibility and metallic aggression without completely sacrificing either side.
Project Renegade are not trying to reinvent metal. They are doing something more useful: taking familiar ingredients, breaking them apart and rebuilding them into something that sounds unmistakably theirs.
Rating: 8.5/10
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