Sometimes metal writing is about managing expectations. Total Negation are a black metal band from Germany, whose new album, Zeitzeuge, (a historical term that means “contemporary witness”) was hailed in press materials and early streams as being remarkably strange with krautrock influences. Since my life seems to be an eternal quest to find and listen to the strangest metal I can find, I was rather excited for this release. However, Zeitzeuge turned out to be rather straightforward black metal with just a few interesting touches. A well-written album, surely, but definitely not on the level of all the truly insane metal that’s been released this year (see: False, Mastery, Jute Gyte).  

The first time I heard this album, I spent the whole time looking for krautrock, which is a term created by an outsider music press that applies to a variety of German bands that differ greatly from one another, from the motorik beat of Neu! to the ambient tones of Ash Ra Tempel. Generally, though, it’s characterized by electronic minimalism and a rejection of blues-based Western rock tropes. And, honestly, there’s not a ton of that on this album. Maybe it’s the propulsive forward movement of “Betrachter,” which owes a bit to Klaus Dinger, or the fact that the album is reduced to just the barest elements of black metal. But I see more in common with Bastard Sapling (traditional black metal influences, slight black n roll edge) or the Darkthrone song “Quintessence” in its stripped-down darkness and croaked vocals.

Subsequent listens to this album where I wasn’t searching for krautrock that really wasn’t there turned out to be much more rewarding than the first. There are some touches on this album that I keep thinking about. On “Kronzeuge” and “Zeitzeuge,” these fucking bells show up in the middle of nowhere during bridges, and I can’t figure out how I feel about them. Sometimes they sound too whimsical, but other times I think they add some nice texture—or in the case of “Kronzeuge,” they work because they kind of throw the song off completely. “Fluechtling” has a middle section that involves an acoustic guitar and a xylophone, and somehow it works when it transitions back into the riffage by way of an opera singer that sounds like a theremin, or the other way around, or both. So yes, there are some nice touches here, but a lot of the album is pretty traditional black metal. “Heimkehrer” has the most impact with the fewest ideas—the increasing intensity of the vocals and the guitars’ tremolo picking around the middle section is cathartic.

The production on Zeitzeuge is why the album works. The vocals are up-front and if they weren’t in German, I would be able to understand the whole story of the album, which according to the press release is supposed to be about a person who “breaks under the pressure of controlling the life and death of others.” The other elements of the sound stay clear and separate, so it’s easy to tell how each instrument contributes to the mood of the whole album. All in all, a solid work with some parts that will stick with you for the next few weeks. I’m still thinking about those bells.

-Joy

Zeitzeuge is available now on Temple of Torturous. For more information on Total Negation, visit the band’s official website.