Totenmond
Der Letzte Mond Vor Dem Beil

This German death moon is back after eight years of silence, welcome silence as far as I am concerned. Now they are back with a new offering called “the last moon before the bell” kind of like waiting for a death sentence to be carried out considering the cell on the cover. Reading the press sheet doesn’t really get my hopes up any more than the band: “The self-proclaimed anti-musicians still stay true to themselves: Expect the typical Totenmond sound in all its glory!” That sound is the thing I didn’t like with their 2008 release Thronräuber and now it is back.

And it sounds more or less like it did then, sort of extremmetallic punkrock, perhaps punkish CrustCore is a good description of how it sounds – that is what the label uses. The vocals are grunty and in German, not overly brilliant. I like the production, the sound is powerful and strong but the music is a kind of anti-music but as they consider themselves anti-musicians it may what they set out to do. But they could at least offer some more variation throughout the album, which would have helped my interest very much – but at least it is better than the previous album.

The thing is though that the album at first seems to be very interesting with a Terminator kind of opening that seems to be very interesting until the music starts and this sensation is ruined. I find it rather strange that they can be absent for so long time and when they return they offer more or less exactly the same as they did before – what was the point of making a new album if it sounds like their old ones anyway? I don’t see it and soon I almost start to hope that the bell chimes after my last moon, and then I wouldn’t need to listen to this anymore.

Better than their previous effort but not really good, Totenmond-fans will probably find this album as good as what they did before and be happy but I like music and this isn’t really it. Totenmond simply does what they have done before and as it wasn’t good before, it isn’t good now.

HHHHHHH