Release Date May 30th, 2026
Format Digital/CD/Cassette
Genre Black Metal
Origin Germany
Formed in Zirndorf in 2012, Totenlegion has built its melodic black metal around German lyrics, rapid percussion, tremolo picked guitars and war centered subject matter. The band first appeared with “Sinfonie Der Einsamkeit” in 2016, followed by the split “Split The Guts” and debut album “Widergänger” in 2017. “Menschenkind” arrived in 2020, with “Wenn Die Wolken Weiter Ziehen” issued as a single the following year. Numerous lineup changes marked the years between the two albums.
On “Einschlag,” Thomas handles bass and vocals, Stefan and Christian share guitars and vocals, and Emil plays drums. Having three vocalists permits a wider spread of piercing screams, lower declarations and emotionally detached calls, an effective choice for songs dealing with shell shock and battlefield ruin. “Einschlag” is the second full length album from Totenlegion, arriving nine years after “Widergänger” as an independently released production.
“Einschlag” covers ten songs and almost forty seven minutes, joining high speed melodic black metal with marching rhythms and slower descents into grief. Tremolo lines and blast beats form the main attack, while broad guitar melodies place sorrow above the violence. The contrast is effective, though several transitions arrive too predictably. The vocal arrangement adds character, as piercing screams, lower shouts and numb declarations resemble different voices trapped inside the same wreckage, with the German cadence locking firmly against the percussion.
The production is raw around the edges, with guitars placed forward, drums retaining impact and bass buried deeper than necessary. “Bataillon Tod,” “Lazarett” and “Tristesse” illustrate the album’s range, moving through martial command, hospital dread and drained melancholy as connected stages of collapse. The lyrics remain fixed on World War I trauma, desertion, memory, battle and physical ruin, presenting warfare through terror and psychological damage, far removed from victory or spectacle.
Its cinematic scale occasionally reaches beyond the independent production, particularly when layered guitars and massed vocals stack up across the higher frequencies, though the riffs and rhythmic changes survive that congestion. “Einschlag” is bleak and severe melodic black metal with sweeping melodies and varied vocals. Predictable transitions and recessed bass prevent a higher rank, while the oppressive atmosphere and focused writing make this a worthwhile second album.
|7.5
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