Band:	Belphegor
Album:	Totenritual
Style:	Black metal, Death metal
Release date:	September 2017

01. Baphomet
02. The Devil's Son
03. Swinefever - Regent Of Pigs
04. Apophis - Black Dragon
05. Totenkult - Exegesis Of Deterioration
06. Totenbeschwörer [instrumental version]
07. Spell Of Reflection
08. Embracing A Star
09. Totenritual

Alright, alright, alright! Who is excited for a new Belphegor album?!...

...Hey guys?...Guys?

So, I'm alone on that one. I can't blame you - Belphegor have always been goofy. Look at the cover of Lucifer Incestus, watch the video for "Der Geistertreiber", or just process the fact they actually named an album Bondage Goat Zombie. They've always walked a fine line between dark humor and outright stupidity.

Until now.

Totenritual is Belphegor demanding respect...Or, to phrase more accurately, Belphegor politely asking for respect. Totenritual is the least tongue-in-cheek album they've ever recorded, which, inversely, makes it completely lacking in character. It's heavy. It's aggressive. It's generic. Forgettable top-speed black metal riffs leading into a chorus that's merely chanting the song title in a low grunt. Jam in the arbitrary pinch harmonic-laden solos and you've got the full picture.

That production though! In fact, the top-notch board-work seems to be trying to make up for the mediocre song-writing. When Belphegor approached their music in a more stripped-down fashion (see Pestapokalypse VI), we saw a band showcasing phenomenal guitar work, clear, aggressive vocals, and creative song structure. Totenritual is indecipherable riffs buried in a massive, throbbing wall of sound, while heavy-handed vocal layering seems like an attempt to hide uncharacteristically sloppy vocals. There's nothing outright awful about the album, it's just slick, thick and unimaginative.

Two songs save this album from being a wall-to-wall bore; "Spell Of Reflection" and "Embracing A Star". This pair stands out not just on this album, but across their entire discography; a seamless flow of both plodding, stomping and top-speed aggression, chunky riffs and sinister melodies in a cold, dark atmosphere. In other words, Belphegor at their peak.

Totenritual is a safe, competent black-death metal album. Unfortunately there are innumerable "competent" extreme metal albums out there with a lot more personality than this.