Ever since I got my hands on a copy of 2020’s Fragment: Erhabenheit I have been hooked on this Austrian black metal horde so I jumped at the chance to review the latest spawn from these black arts purveyors, Theotoxin.

Constructed of nine vile and depraved acts, this is a future masterpiece in its standing, each track is as depraved, immoral and corrupt as the next, from the opening enchanting chords of ‘World, Burn For Us’ to the closing echoes of haunting and chilling ‘Totenruhe’, and that’s before we even start on the addition of a cover of the Marduk juggernaut, ‘Frontschwein’, which is crafted and delivered with absolute sublime majestic decadence.

The vocals from Ragnar are powerful and commanding throughout, a true representation of authority and dominance, each word spat out with potency and controlling malice and none more so than on ‘Perennial Lunacy’ where they turn even more demonic and sadistic. The intertwining six string work from Rauter and Frick is backed up by the muscle of Tischler and Musil which is elegant and diabolical in equal measures. All of the instrumental elements are delivered with precision and power, meticulous and influential from start to finish.

Tracks such as ‘Towards The Chasm’ and ‘Demise Of The Gilded Age’ truly epitomises the very definition of raw black metal and can be seen to draw on influences from the very likes of Horna, Taake, 1349 and even the mighty Watain. Violence and aggression are at the epicentre of each track, their simple mission is to attack, attack and then attack with even more vigour and strength. Ragnar excels with his vocal ranges and the guitars add a background element of mesmerising enchantment and fascination.

The decision to add a cover onto the end of this album was genius, and to make it the black metal anthem by the Germanic demigods was pure brilliance. It kept very much the essence of the original and it is delivered with as much malice and spite as Marduk deliver it with. Hostile, belligerent and antagonistic, an honest treat for your soul if you can handle it.

Raw, vitriolic, aggressive and complex pretty much sums up this success from Theotoxin and with a European tour with Archgoat and Whoredom Rife on the horizon the Austrians are surely on the brink of becoming a household name in the extreme metal world.

(9/10 Phil Pountney)

https://www.facebook.com/TheotoxinOfficial

https://artofpropaganda.bandcamp.com/album/fragment-totenruhe