Totengott - Doppelganger

Originally started as a Celtic Frost cover band, today we have Spain’s Totengott and their debut full-length release “Doppelgänger”. With a very old-school and raw style, this band combines Doom and Thrash Metal elements into a very decadent sound that is quite engaging and sickening. Just imagine a Doom version of Celtic Cross and you will be closer to what the band actually sounds like.

Starting the release with the 8-minute “Delusion of Negation”, the band creates a very thick atmosphere with punishing riffs and atmospheric arrangements. The drums/tempo have that old-school Black/Thrash vibe with a Punkier edge. Being the shortest track in this release, the band sets a very unforgiving atmosphere for this release.

On “Satan Beside You” we get a more complex song that slowly builds up its momentum with multiple vocal styles and more direct punishing riffs. Perfectly crafted to headbang slowly to it, this song is quite dissonant and engaging, but yet straightforward and old-school sounding. The band’s ability to deliver engaging music with bare minimum instrumentation is quite admirable, making them very versatile and always keeping the listener guessing.

Saving the best for last, the album title track clocks in at around 20 minutes and involves influences from old-school Swedish Death Metal to Black Metal shrieks, always surrounded by punishing distorted guitars. The atmospheric keyboards add that extra layer to keep things more diverse and generate tension as the songs progress. With their debut release, Totengott manages to capture the listener’s attention with their homage to old-school Metal. If you are an old-school Doom Meal/Death Metal fan, this will certainly be right up your alley.