Trepaneringsritualen - The Totality Of Death

Centuries after a nuclear apocalypse... By the banks of a poisonous river... In a wasteland of humanity... A small population of survivors led a wretched existence between splinters of erstwhile civilization. There is no future ahead; there is no hope for a miracle to happen. Only devastation and death around, this is the present reality. Some force is needed to struggle and overcome, but where to find this force when the mighty Lord forgot his creations? Should they live without guidance and leading hand? Nature abhors a vacuum, that why this is the age of the rise of new gods - every dog has its day. Can there be better conditions for establishing a new cult of blood and human sacrifice?

Undoubtedly, only the strongest species can survive in those extreme conditions. And I am pretty sure that music playing in their heads is of the special kind, the one of demonic possession, the one of Trepaneringsritualen. I don't know which spheres these sounds had come from but what's certainly clear is their darkest origin, the energetic intensity, the reflection of creepy, sophisticated and evil mind. Open wide the gates of your sanity, it is time for all fiends from hell to rape it with extreme brutality.

The record under the banner of "Totality of Death" has everything for the fans of death industrial to praise it for. Being a compilation from the various stages of the band's development, the double cd contains twenty four tracks of pure terror which is spilled around my room without any doubts and limitations for more than two hours. It was divided in two parts released by two different labels for some reason beyond my understanding, but those companies have an organic connection based on the same interest in the specific material. Silken Tofu and Malignant records join forces to bring one of the most powerful releases of 2013.

Even when this is the collection of tracks spread along the time line, their selection and proper organization creates an effective symbiosis. It is pointless to discuss each and every composition in its properties and concentrate on most significant of them when a dense apocalyptic atmosphere captures every corner of imagination. TR takes me on a journey through the vast territories of mutated land and shows a decent ability to bind basic instincts into one corrosive substrate of horror, hatred and desperation. Tracks like "För Svears Väl" , "All Hail The Black Flame" or "Veil The World" conjure a prime evil into this world, releasing hordes of demons with heavy guitar riffs and ritualistic drum beat. The sound is being kept as dirty and raw as possible in most of the tracks and that effect contributes a lot to the feeling of primitivism and decadence. Sonic landscape of rotten soil rises out of the sharp images of the compositions like "Cherem" or "Den Fallne Domaldrs Lik".

As the album evolves forward, TR continue to show that death and destruction have their own beauty, sometimes disgusting or scaring, but always powerful and full of hidden mysteries to explore. Revelations of demonic possession crawl out of "Edifice of Nine Sauvastikas" and "Sacrament & Crucifixion" saturated with gloomy ambiance full of machinery splashes and cracks. Get yourself involved in the very depth of man-triggered catastrophe, not only on the physical level of sensation, but also with a mental decomposing towards the basic low-life substance. Sinister voices whisper their occult chants out of "Judas Goat", "Runatal", "The Birth of Babalon" and others keeping the apocalyptic atmosphere always alive with a constant presence.

Dark and slow tracks change places with more violent acts which penetrate deeply with their insane screaming rage and blasting terror. "Drunk with Blood" and "Eucharist of Shit & Piss" are there too, right behind, and ready to rape a still warm body before biting into a bloody flesh.

After a bunch of different albums released on CDs , tapes and vinyls, TR make a great marketing move concentrating the best of the juice into one extremely intense double CD release. A highly diverse picture which combines the best elements of death industrial, power electronics and ritualistic black ambient genres is brought out of the cold plains of Sweden and spilled through a thick soundscape of dawn of human race. I am sure that you will be proud to have this release in your collection because this kind of music will continue to shake you for many years to come and will remind you that nothing is sacred in this world, but only the energies that will make you stronger to triumph in any crisis or conflict. Dec 27 2013