Every now and then with music, I follow my gut where normally I wouldn’t give a second thought. When I first heard Totengott a few years ago, I could not help but feel that this band that was so heavily influenced by Celtic Frost was destined for greatness. “Doppelganger” was and still is an album I enjoy very much, and to hear any new material I felt would be like glimpsing even further into the potential behind this Spanish act. So the question was for me: would Totengott succeed and advance upon the excellence that they threw down with their previous album? Fuck no – they fucking demolished it and triumphed like champions!

Everything that was laid forth with Totengott’s first album was the sort of thing that really wets the palette and satisfies time after time with delectable riffs, massive intensity, and diversity in sound that was simply fascinating to see pulled off with masterful precision. Now – take all of that and step everything up a million notches to where the vision of Totengott is realized to an astonishing extent with tremendous power to boot. With four tracks in tow resulting in a listen a few minutes longer than its predecessor, “The Abyss” is a record that brings together the many different styles that Totengott has always brought to the table with a deadlier sound that’s somehow even more infectious! There are many more moments throughout this record that bring forth that fantastic dark atmosphere with a glorious cinematic sensation that when paired with the ferocious speed, expertly spread out and deadly riffs, vocals that are just as harsh and enrapturing as they’ve ever been, and a flow from one song to the next that allows “The Abyss” to become four annals of darkness with each having a different tone and effect than the last with surprising ease. There’s not a single moment throughout this entire album that is anything to sleep on or ignore in the slightest as it’s at every feasible turn that Totengott really steps up their game tenfold such that “The Abyss” blows all previous work out of the water while simultaneously doing it justice as Totengott still holds true to the sound that they’ve been known for while expanding upon it to an extent that is nothing short of magnificent.

Such an increase in excellence that we get here is nothing that should be ignored in any form. Given the chance, I’m absolutely positive that “The Abyss” would spread like wildfire as it’s glory is so accessible and the talent that’s on full display here is simply infectious from beginning to end and Totengott wields it all masterfully without a single misstep. This is but the second full-length album from Totengott, and I cannot help but proclaim that these guys are destined for further greatness in the underground if given the chance. I’d bet money on it. Simply, stunning.

LISTEN to “The Abyss” on Bandcamp here.

LIKE Totengott on Facebook here.