Review by Felix on September 26, 2022.

Hear the cry of Sheepdog at the beginning, realize immediately that the world is not the worst place to be and make yourself at home. Razor start with a very typical speedster, only the vocals are missing on "The Marshall Arts". It does not matter, the long-drawn scream that kicks off the album makes up for this. The Canadians put many extremely effective riffs into this opener and there can be no doubt that this number belongs to the highlights of the full-length.

By the way, the album is filled to the brim. Razor challenge the listener over the marathon distance of 14 songs. Maybe less would have been more, but the majority of the songs mirrors the unbroken energy of the formation - and we have to keep the fact in mind that this was their fifth full-length within less than four years. As an aside, the epic experiments of "Custom Killing" do not occur again and that's both a blessing and a curse. Due to the fact that all songs rely on a comparable compact pattern, the album is not totally immune against monotonous sections. Fortunately, great choruses like that of the outstanding "Behind Bars" or excellent riffs like the one that opens the last track bring the band always back on track.

It goes without saying that the full-length lives on the pulsating guitar work which throws an overdose of sharp riffs and leads into the audience and the vocals of Sheepdog. He connects insane screams with his normal yet aggressive voice and this combination has a certain charm, even when it comes to songs like "I'll Only Say it Once". This track is a representative for the few pieces which do not lack velocity, but the last iota of compositional accuracy is missing. These songs do not hurt the flow of the album, it is anything but a waste of time to listen to them, but they do not leave a lasting impression. Only "Discipline" must be branded as filler, even though its speed part at the end prevents a total failure.

Although the average velocity is, of course, really high, Razor do not only concentrate on a maximum of speed. They are clever enough to ensure a more than sufficient level of dynamic by slowing down the pace from time to time. And the aura of the less rapid sequences is not less dangerous than that of the speedy eruptions. "Violent Restitution" has a menacing mood from the beginning to the end and the title track holds the best mid-tempo part of the entire album after the second chorus. Fun fact, its fantastic riff reappears on Desaster's "Angelwhore". You will find it in "Havoc", if I am not mistaken and there it works excellently as well. There is another thing that works - "Violent Restitution" boasts with a sound that fits the genre. The guitars have this edgy touch that makes speed and thrash metal to something very special, the drums do not lack power and Sheepdog is in the eye of the storm. In contrast to the improvable background choirs, his voice marks more or less the epicentre of the mix. Only the bass guitar falls by the wayside, but this has happened roughly a million times in the history of metal productions and it does not make sense to complain about the standard.

To be clear: if "Violent Restitution" is no part of your collection so far, you should close the gap immediately. And the same applies for any other album of the Canadian legend as well. Razor have embodied the spirit of speed and thrash metal like almost no other band, not least because of the fact they never were as successful as Testament, Exodus or Slayer. Yet they have always been likeable while embodying the perfect thrash metal attitude. Already Sheepdog's scream at the beginning of this great item of their discography will remind you of this.

Rating: 8.1 out of 10

Review by Fernando on June 21, 2024.

Celtic Frost is a band that's synonymous with extreme metal and for good reason, Tom G. Warrior, Martin Ain and co. set the blueprint for black metal, death metal, gothic metal and a myriad of other subgenres and hybrid genres, inspiring generations of bands to this day. And today we have the Spanish occult metallers Totengott, who started their existence as a Celtic Frost tribute band, taking their name from the song of the same name on Celtic Frost's monumental swan song 'Monotheist'. Totengott has made a name for themselves continuing in the tradition set by the Swiss titans, and after a long period, they come back with their third album, and I can say that this is their best and where they truly become their own entity within the sphere of influence from Celtic Frost.

I want to get this out of the way quick, yes, Totengott is extremely indebted to Celtic Frost, and not just their early days. In some areas the music sounds uncanny to Tom G. Warrior, particularly the more mid-pace and morose moments, and some of the harsh vocals. Yes, it is easy to label this band as a Celtic Frost worship band, or worse, copyists, but I think that's extremely reductive, especially if you spend a couple of hours on the 'raw black metal' tag on Bandcamp. But, it is worth noting, and keep in mind that this band started out as a Celtic Frost cover band, if anything to understand where Totengott is coming from and what they're intent is.

With that out of the way, I really enjoyed this record, the band did an excellent job at playing that particular niche that Celtic Frost created which later spawned into black/thrash and death/doom metal. Chunky riffs, massive drums, powerful bellowing vocals and odd time signatures. However, where the band truly come into their own is when they speed up, at their most punk and thrashing, the band truly become something else, whilst maintaining those low-tuned guitar riffs, which they also mix up by keeping the drums fast but the riffs slow, and the ensuing juxtaposition feels smothering. Furthermore, the instrumentation and technical prowess of this trio is also outstanding, despite how much they draw from Tom G. Warrior, they add a level of raw grit that became less pronounced in Celtic Frost.

The final aspect I want to highlight is the production, because it's excellent, and on that note, another aspect where Totengott go above and beyond their reverence is on the atmospherics and more symphonic element, first they don't get cheesy or overwrought but the use of brass instrumentation like horns and bells and old-school industrial percussion give songs like the first part of the 2-part title track, and 'The Architect' create a sense of depth and darkness. Through the production the band achieved a dark atmosphere that's different from Celtic Frost and Tom G. Warrior's successor band, Triptykon. The best way I can describe this dark atmosphere is avant-garde bands like Deathspell Omega, instead of the desolate melancholy of Celtic Frost, we get an ominous and off-putting sense of dread, like walking into a gothic cathedral in the middle of the night, and with how polished and pristine the production is, you hear and feel every single nuance in the instrumentation and compositions.

All in all, while not the most original band in the world, Totengott most definitely knows what they're doing and how to do it, the band succeed because of their reverence of Celtic Frost, and also show that they're more than their influence, even if during brief glimpses. To any fans of Tom G. Warrior this is an easy recommendation, but I do still recommend an open mind and look beyond the obvious influence, because you might be surprised while also scratching an itch.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Review by Fernando on June 21, 2024.

Celtic Frost is a band that's synonymous with extreme metal and for good reason, Tom G. Warrior, Martin Ain and co. set the blueprint for black metal, death metal, gothic metal and a myriad of other subgenres and hybrid genres, inspiring generations of bands to this day. And today we have the Spanish occult metallers Totengott, who started their existence as a Celtic Frost tribute band, taking their name from the song of the same name on Celtic Frost's monumental swan song 'Monotheist'. Totengott has made a name for themselves continuing in the tradition set by the Swiss titans, and after a long period, they come back with their third album, and I can say that this is their best and where they truly become their own entity within the sphere of influence from Celtic Frost.

I want to get this out of the way quick, yes, Totengott is extremely indebted to Celtic Frost, and not just their early days. In some areas the music sounds uncanny to Tom G. Warrior, particularly the more mid-pace and morose moments, and some of the harsh vocals. Yes, it is easy to label this band as a Celtic Frost worship band, or worse, copyists, but I think that's extremely reductive, especially if you spend a couple of hours on the 'raw black metal' tag on Bandcamp. But, it is worth noting, and keep in mind that this band started out as a Celtic Frost cover band, if anything to understand where Totengott is coming from and what they're intent is.

With that out of the way, I really enjoyed this record, the band did an excellent job at playing that particular niche that Celtic Frost created which later spawned into black/thrash and death/doom metal. Chunky riffs, massive drums, powerful bellowing vocals and odd time signatures. However, where the band truly come into their own is when they speed up, at their most punk and thrashing, the band truly become something else, whilst maintaining those low-tuned guitar riffs, which they also mix up by keeping the drums fast but the riffs slow, and the ensuing juxtaposition feels smothering. Furthermore, the instrumentation and technical prowess of this trio is also outstanding, despite how much they draw from Tom G. Warrior, they add a level of raw grit that became less pronounced in Celtic Frost.

The final aspect I want to highlight is the production, because it's excellent, and on that note, another aspect where Totengott go above and beyond their reverence is on the atmospherics and more symphonic element, first they don't get cheesy or overwrought but the use of brass instrumentation like horns and bells and old-school industrial percussion give songs like the first part of the 2-part title track, and 'The Architect' create a sense of depth and darkness. Through the production the band achieved a dark atmosphere that's different from Celtic Frost and Tom G. Warrior's successor band, Triptykon. The best way I can describe this dark atmosphere is avant-garde bands like Deathspell Omega, instead of the desolate melancholy of Celtic Frost, we get an ominous and off-putting sense of dread, like walking into a gothic cathedral in the middle of the night, and with how polished and pristine the production is, you hear and feel every single nuance in the instrumentation and compositions.

All in all, while not the most original band in the world, Totengott most definitely knows what they're doing and how to do it, the band succeed because of their reverence of Celtic Frost, and also show that they're more than their influence, even if during brief glimpses. To any fans of Tom G. Warrior this is an easy recommendation, but I do still recommend an open mind and look beyond the obvious influence, because you might be surprised while also scratching an itch.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Review by Fernando on June 21, 2024.

Celtic Frost is a band that's synonymous with extreme metal and for good reason, Tom G. Warrior, Martin Ain and co. set the blueprint for black metal, death metal, gothic metal and a myriad of other subgenres and hybrid genres, inspiring generations of bands to this day. And today we have the Spanish occult metallers Totengott, who started their existence as a Celtic Frost tribute band, taking their name from the song of the same name on Celtic Frost's monumental swan song 'Monotheist'. Totengott has made a name for themselves continuing in the tradition set by the Swiss titans, and after a long period, they come back with their third album, and I can say that this is their best and where they truly become their own entity within the sphere of influence from Celtic Frost.

I want to get this out of the way quick, yes, Totengott is extremely indebted to Celtic Frost, and not just their early days. In some areas the music sounds uncanny to Tom G. Warrior, particularly the more mid-pace and morose moments, and some of the harsh vocals. Yes, it is easy to label this band as a Celtic Frost worship band, or worse, copyists, but I think that's extremely reductive, especially if you spend a couple of hours on the 'raw black metal' tag on Bandcamp. But, it is worth noting, and keep in mind that this band started out as a Celtic Frost cover band, if anything to understand where Totengott is coming from and what they're intent is.

With that out of the way, I really enjoyed this record, the band did an excellent job at playing that particular niche that Celtic Frost created which later spawned into black/thrash and death/doom metal. Chunky riffs, massive drums, powerful bellowing vocals and odd time signatures. However, where the band truly come into their own is when they speed up, at their most punk and thrashing, the band truly become something else, whilst maintaining those low-tuned guitar riffs, which they also mix up by keeping the drums fast but the riffs slow, and the ensuing juxtaposition feels smothering. Furthermore, the instrumentation and technical prowess of this trio is also outstanding, despite how much they draw from Tom G. Warrior, they add a level of raw grit that became less pronounced in Celtic Frost.

The final aspect I want to highlight is the production, because it's excellent, and on that note, another aspect where Totengott go above and beyond their reverence is on the atmospherics and more symphonic element, first they don't get cheesy or overwrought but the use of brass instrumentation like horns and bells and old-school industrial percussion give songs like the first part of the 2-part title track, and 'The Architect' create a sense of depth and darkness. Through the production the band achieved a dark atmosphere that's different from Celtic Frost and Tom G. Warrior's successor band, Triptykon. The best way I can describe this dark atmosphere is avant-garde bands like Deathspell Omega, instead of the desolate melancholy of Celtic Frost, we get an ominous and off-putting sense of dread, like walking into a gothic cathedral in the middle of the night, and with how polished and pristine the production is, you hear and feel every single nuance in the instrumentation and compositions.

All in all, while not the most original band in the world, Totengott most definitely knows what they're doing and how to do it, the band succeed because of their reverence of Celtic Frost, and also show that they're more than their influence, even if during brief glimpses. To any fans of Tom G. Warrior this is an easy recommendation, but I do still recommend an open mind and look beyond the obvious influence, because you might be surprised while also scratching an itch.

Rating: 8 out of 10