Totenmond – Der Letzte Mond Vor Dem Beil (2016)

“Great News For You If Looking For Something New In The Metal Scene”

By Butch

Before even starting. The band´s name translates to DEAD MOON or MOON OF THE DEAD. Nice move already. And the album´s title is THE LAST MOON BEFORE THE BELL. I know you are by now thinking you must listen to this CD. And just in case you do not feel like reading anymore, let me confirm that YOU MUST LISTEN TO THIS RECORD. Moreover, you have to listen to Der Letzte Mond Vor Dem Beil with your headohones, at night, alone, and make sure no one will be bothering you. Because this is new stuff, and it is plain AWESOME. And now, you can keep on reading this review.

Initially known as WERMUT, in 1990 they change their name to TOTENMOND. They are German, and like to define their music as “CONTROLLED NOISE”. It is impossible that after reading this you will not be willing to listen to these guys. But there is more. They are labelled as something like PROG DEATH METAL WITH PUNK INFLUENCES and their lyrics talk about politics, society and History. In fact the cover is a gloomy picture of the jail cell where Bakunin died in prison. By now I personally need nothing more than this to sit down and kiss their feet. I would take this album to a desert island along with some DORITOS, GUACAMOLE and COLD BEER.

TOTENMOND holds eigth records, several demos and a compilation. This new one arrives via MASSACRE RECORDS. Recorded with ALEXANDER KRULL, it is released on August 2016. Similar bands could be CARNIVORE, EISENVATER, DRECKSAU y NECROS CHRISTOS. But I am afraid TOTENMOND play their own league. And it is a CHAMPIONS one. Because Der Letzte Mond Vor Dem Beil shows such a great and wide variety of atmospheres, inspiration, dark demoniac effects that at times the music is just a mere bridge to convey a story of sheer terror that flows smoothly, eternal, and one that you will not escape from. This can be so since themselves through their FACEBOOK page are defining it as NEOSATANIC ANTIFASCIST ART. Although they have ocasionally toured with RAMMSTEIN, they are not comfortable with the “new German hard sound”, which they consider to be a comercial label. The band has also toured with Tambien han girado con HEAVENWOOD , ATROCITY or IN FLAMES, quite different styles altogether.

An exceptional production work, that highlights the rough voice of Pazzer, as well as increasing the volume and presence of the guitar and bass with a punkish vibe, thus achieving a touch of excellence by adding sound effects from wars, battles, woods at night where zombies might roam. This record can possibly be a great description of a feeling that grabs you when you escape a battlefield all covered in blood and end up in a dark wood being chased by an undefined something that will surely kill you. A nightmare, because you know you will not see the light of a new day.

DIE ENTHEILIGUNG DES BLASPHEMISCHEN JOSEF UND DER EWIGE REGEN is a masterpiece of an intro, that will leave you speechless beholding a growing atmosphere from a quiet moment in the open air full of birds singing, water,etc.. that suddenly is attacked by a macabre bass riff, very PINKFLOYDIAN. Rain falls, and something lurks. The bass increases the pace, the pattern is broken, rain falls even harder… and thunder starts. This is no Justin Bieber, it is prog death metal with punk touches. Get ready for this. An orchestra enters the scene, undefined voices fill the headphones ( amazing production) and you are already tense and admiring the album. A sinister narrator, or maybe a satanic monk, welcomes you into a tremendous explosion of thunder and lightning that will go hand in hand with the guitar until the end. You want more and here it comes HÖLLE MIT HOF where a propaganda guy with a speaker in front of a crowd shouts a frantic speech ( possibly leftist) in a SLIPKNOT fashion ( PULSE OF THE MAGGOTS) , and right after a punk metal masterpiece rips you apart. SENF´s bass gets the credit here. You can see some metalcore and thrash here. BLUT AUF KRANK brings an atomic bass guitar and Mr. SP Senz in the drums initiating a war. Quite basic stuff here. Pazzer drops a huge roar in a heavy metal as fxxx song. Amazing ending. KEHRWOCHE could be a good HELL AWAITS-era SLAYER song, with some terrifying sounds at first, that develop into a SLUDGE style song. A massive track. I know that by now you are practising your AIR GUITAR SKILLS. A height of the album here at the end, with the drums speeding up big time. TÖTET DEN KÖNIG slightly breaks the pace with a more comercial approach, if this term can ever be applied here. Traditional heavy stuff, traditional, a certain CELTIC FROST vibe at times.

ZU DEN WAFFEN takes us to the middle of a battlefield amidst bombs, gunshots, and wounded soldiers shouts. This band is quite political, extreme left actually, and you will find lots of political stuff here and there. This is a massive punk track. A jewel of anger where the speedy noise that is highighted by the amazing bass riffs. We are bordering styles here, and you should be aware that TOTENMOND move back and forth this world of politics and punk to offer a new sense to the explosions, the speeches, and the propaganda that this song is offering.Hand grenades, shotguns, and fiery musical instruments. A goddam A+ track. FORT VON GOTT keeps the sound samples, the well taken care of song beginnings, and this is a key factor in this album. Metal from the great dark european 80s school. At moments Cronos from VENOM will ring a bell. Another height of this amazing record, due to the spectacular pace the drum achieves by complementing the other instruments. GIFTKÖDER es terrifying. Very powerful. And not that strong. It is the heaviness, the atmosphere Pazzer achieves what makes you feel awe. INTO THE FIRE starts as a 70s BLACK SABBATH anthem. Detailed rhythms , well developed and built to last by these guys who interestingly do not give themselves much credit in interviews, stating they “don´t give a shit about touring and meeting new people and fans”. DIE SALBUNG is a gorgeous OUTRO , an exit with an orchestra that will haunt you with PHANTOM OF THE OPERA vibes. una salida orquestal al disco que te traerá recuerdos del original FANTASMA DE LA ÓPERA. A satanic voice says goo bye and I truly hope you are not home alone at 3am listening to this track as I was. A materpiece.

Mix in the cocktail some bullet proof experimental, noisy, aggressive MASTODON, speed it up with some Punk, Death Metal, Sludge, Industrial & Noise, add some extreme left political ideas along with DEATH METAL, BLACK, KRAUTROCK, and you will end up with a hidden jewel of the German metal scene, showing up again after 8 years… In their own words, “satanism is a daily creed for us, and we just need beer and not much else…· Dirty, heavy, amoral, philosofical. A pure pleasure for the metal ears.