 Release:
Testimony Records
16.01.2026
Info:
TOTAL ANNIHILATION will celebrate the band's 20th anniversary year with the release of their fourth full-length "Mountains of Madness". This album delivers all the Swiss precision and trademark elements their following has come to expect of them but also with more of everything: more tempo and serious speed, more brutality, more power, more thrash, more death but also more harmonies, more melodies, and more musicality!
There are also more tentacles, more jaws, more razor-sharp teeth, more twisted mutation, and definitely more evil! Talking about tentacles, the album title points already towards the famous cosmic horror novella "At the Mountains of Madness" (1936) by American gothic author H. P. Lovecraft, who has been a constant source of inspiration for the metal scene in general and TOTAL ANNIHILATION in particular.
Yet for TOTAL ANNIHILATION all this horror is not just escapism for entertainment but it serves a meaningful purpose. The album is permeated by a deep moral disgust and burning anger towards all the evil and reckless destruction that humanity forces onto itself and all other forms of life on this planet and earth itself. "Mountains of Madness" is conceived as an echo of and a bold manifesto about the state of the world as well as an artistic sign of our time.
Back in the year 2006 things looked less bleak when a bunch of young musicians were just looking for some good times. Vocalist Daniel Altwegg had joined forces with three of his friends and a hot desire to simply form the hardest, loudest, and rawest metal band of their Swiss home, the City of Basel.
After a phase of stylistic experiments, the band settled for an aggressive yet melodic course that combined elements of death and thrash metal. A fitting name was found with TOTAL ANNIHILATION, and they quickly established a regional reputation as an outstanding live act and underlined bigger ambitions by spreading the professionally produced demo "TA 80" (2008) and the debut album "84" (2009) internationally. Both releases were later reissued due to their success and continued demand.
With a strong foothold established abroad, TOTAL ANNIHILATION broadened their musical range by adding a second guitarist to their line-up before the release of their sophomore full-length. "Extinction" (2012) was very well received by critics and fans alike and opened doors to renowned festivals such as Metaldays Slovenia, Bavarian Metalheadz Open Air, Swiss Metal Masters among many others.
Following several line-up changes that left Daniel Altwegg as the only remaining founding member, TOTAL ANNIHILATION continued to push forward and unleashed their most brutal and technically sophisticated album yet, "…On Chains of Doom" (2020).
Once live shows returned in the wake of the global pandemic, TOTAL ANNIHILATION immediately hit stages across Europe again, alongside such acts as LEGION OF THE DAMNED, ASPHYX, M.O.D., and MESSIAH as well as more festivals such as Tolminator in Slovenia.
For all of those who are sick and tired of hearing the same stuff all over again, TOTAL ANNIHILATION offer the perfect cure with "Mountains of Madness": simply more of everything!
Recorded by Christoph Brandes at Iguana Studios in Freiburg (DE). Mixed & mastered by Ronnie Björnström at Björnström Sound & Production in Sundsvall (SE). Cover artwork by Bruno Gonzalez.
"The Art of Torture" - Official Music Video: https://youtu.be/HFvbwr_JSKQ
Tracklist:
01. The Art of Torture
02. Mountains of Madness
03. Illusion
04. Chokehold
05. Choose the Day
06. Age of Mental Suicide
07. Nyctophobia
08. Beneath the Cross
09. Invisible Conflagration
10. Lost Forever
11. Hate Remains
Line-up:
Daniel Altwegg – Vocals
Nicolas Stelz – Guitars
Jürgen Schmid – Guitars
Michael Lautenschläger – Drums
Niklaus Denger – Bass
Guest apperance: Additional Vocals by Luca Piazzalonga (Vígljós/Gravpel) on "Choose the Day"
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