Consecration of Lilith

Spain's blackened, thrashing underground scene has been off the charts for the past decade with bands like Wasteland Riders and Körgull the Exterminator leading the charge. Tötenwolf is another such band, though their focus lies somewhere between blackened heavy metal and crusty d-beat, yet with a really cool occult horror vibe mixed in. The band's second EP, 2017's Consecration of Lilith sees them on top of their game, with seven tracks of high octane metal.

The riffs are often speeding heavy metal riffs with a bit of a punk bent to them (think Motörhead meets Discharge) but the band knows when to slow things down with some touches of garage punk doom akin to Satan's Satyrs. What's really sets Tötenwolf apart from a lot of the contemporary blackened metalpunk acts is their use of occult/psyche rock keyboard patches at times, create an overtly spooky atmosphere, which the closing track, “The Svmmoner Call” showcases perfectly. The band utilizes dual vocals, with V. delivering a filthy, deep bark and Yrene sounding like a unhinged, screaming banshee (though her echoing cleans are phenomenal on “The Black Vvitch of Highgate Hill”). Most of the material, though, is speedy riffing with d-beat drumming which goes for the throat. It's acerbic and raw and extremely catchy, sounding like it would be a perfect fit for a late night cruise through the empty streets.

Consecration of Lilith is a really cool little EP full of punk-ish, blackened heavy metal of the highest caliber; the occult horror vibes are just icing on the cake. Hopefully the band stays at it, because a full length of this style could be fantastic. As it stands now, though, you'll be hard pressed to find a metalpunk band with this much of their own sound. Occult witching metal, Tötenwolf is the real deal.