Review: Totale Vernichtung “Feuer und Krieg”

I have so many thoughts, feelings, and emotions about Feuer und Krieg when listening to it. This album, in its entirety, is such an exquisite beginning to the rise of Totale Vernichtung! I only wish I would have heard this demo back in 2006, when it was released… as I really missed out then, on what has now become my absolute favorite, most loved and most adored band of all-time! At least I’ve heard this demo now, and nothing could ever harbor a more divine feeling than this; how this album makes me feel when I listen to it.

Intensely massive, and very hypnotizing riffs begin this journey through “Tod durch Zyklon-B”. As an elongated scream dominates forth… drums, while still definitely present, feels so far off in the distance. Insane riffing is more commanding, and at the forefront. And the vocals… raw, powerful, and aberrant; while still maintaining that rich, flowing beauty that I love so much of Antimessiah‘s skilled, and unconstrained voice. Extremely raw, and very unrelenting in nature. The vocals are aggressive and dominant as hell; while the different styles of atmospheric melodies are prominently rich, and immensely breathtaking! His forced scream-singing resonates with such raw emotion and passion, I can’t help but to surrender with pure admiration. And, that ever-lovely guitar solo halfway through… just fuck! It’s so mesmerizing, to say the least. This song is still beautiful enough to bring tears to my eyes, only to admire the beauty that this song delivers.

“Feuer und Krieg”… Goddamn, this song makes me cry uncontrollably, right from the very start! I swear, Antimessiah can do no wrong when it comes to his music and his one-of-a-kind vocal skills. His envisioning of black metal music is so far, high up the scale… so way up high, above all else. The drums are so intensified on this song, blasting with such a fiery speed! A slight break almost in the middle of the track leads into what is the most beautiful guitar solo that I honestly have ever heard in my entire life! I absolutely lose control of all my emotions, and I can’t help but to fall down in absolute weakness upon hearing it. With this part, I just lose it all completely, unsure if I will ever recover… every single time I listen to this song. That guitar solo gets so fast at the end, as the drumming intensifies even further! There’s a slight bit of distortion within the riffing, that only escalates the intensity factor! I almost can’t take it… I literally become an emotional wreck of a mess. This is, without question, one of my favorite songs, of all-time! I swear, I honestly have such a hard time advancing past this song, to get to the next. “Feuer und Krieg” is just everything in the world to me, when I’m listening to it. Time truly stands still with this one. It genuinely does.

The last two tracks “Die Schlacht”, and “Beseitigung von lebensunwertem Leben” compliment each other extremely well, almost as if they’re connected. The atmosphere blends in so smoothly between the two, that it’s almost hard to disparate. I say this respectfully, as I mean that in a good way. The guitar solos in both are looked upon with such admiration. The insane riffing is so pure and precise, that it hooks you in for the entire duration. Antimessiah‘s forced, intensified yell-scream-singing, I swear at times I could listen to forever… the dominance alone never gives way, binding you to his voice until the entire album is over. Even so afterwards, I am still compelled to listen to it again, a few times over. The drumming holds a steady, hard-hitting, dominant beat throughout; as well as the haunting melodies give way to intensely terrify your soul… albeit, with refined caress. Absolute, pure perfection.

I swear I love this man’s music so much! At times, honestly it seems I can never get enough of it. Everything Antimessiah does within his music and his vocals are so precise… so, articulate… so perfect. And, Feuer und Krieg is an immense attestation to that. I very highly recommend this demo, wholeheartedly; as you will experience a demo so full of enriching, dominant beauty all throughout. I swear I must find this cassette, as I desire it greatly… with infinite listens, bound to render it completely unplayable… eventually. This demo is both awe-inspiring, and breathtaking. Rest assured, it is an album that you will enjoy and appreciate profoundly, for a long time to come.

So raw, so beautiful, so passionate, so… everything! And, this is what Feuer und Krieg means to me.

Release date: June 14th, 2006