Review BLACK TOTEM “III: Sacrifice Tonite”

Black Totem are releasing a new album called “III: Sacrifice Tonite” and what a surprise, it’s the third studio album from the Finnish Death’n’Roll enthusiasts. The four-piece band was founded in 2008 in Turku, Finland, and released their self-titled debut album in 2015. “II: Shapeshifting” followed in 2021, and now it is time for a new journey through the realms of blackened rock.

Without using too much of the standard horror rock tools, Black Totem know how to create a dark and creepy atmosphere. Instead, the quartet mixes rock, blues and a doom essence, resulting in blistering tracks like “Six Walls” and “The Witch”. Both songs are not only great representatives of Black Totem’s music. They also show an inspirational factor that can be traced back to bands such as Samhain and The Misfits. This has something to do with the intonation of the singer Spit Poison, but it is also reflected in the thunderous sound of the guitars. The female vocals of Vera Wolf fit perfectly into this context, as they add a certain “Rocky Horror Picture Show” vibe to the sound of Black Totem.

Also worthy of mention is the sinister ‘Bat Totem’, which has an anarchic punk spirit embedded in a horror-rock framework. A howling wolf is missing? No. “I Wolf” is the song that is an ode to the rising full moon, and even though the howling sound is quite funny, the song is an entertaining one outside the beaten paths of rock music.

Black Totem deliver with “III: Sacrifice Tonite” a cool record that can be recommended to fans of bands like Samhain, The Misfits and Danzig. Blackened and dark, this is the sound of a band that is following its own musical vision instead of chasing after trends and hypes.