TOTAL ANNIHILATION – Albumankündigung & Videopremiere
Swiss death-thrashers TOTAL ANNIHILATION have announced their new album, entitled "Mountains of Madness", scheduled for January 16th 2026 on all formats through their new label home Testimony Records.
It was recorded by Christoph Brandes at Iguana Studios in Freiburg (DE) and mixed & mastered by Ronnie Björnström at Björnström Sound & Production in Sundsvall (SE). The cover artwork was created by Bruno Gonzalez.
A video clip for the album's leadoff track "The Art of Torture" can be checked out here: https://youtu.be/HFvbwr_JSKQ
Guitarist Jürgen Schmid states: "This song is a beast! Imagine some bastard thing between Frankenstein’s Monster and the Alien – this song delivers all the trademarks we stand for and even more. When you ask for a reference about the current musical development of the band, this would be one of my suggestions to check. And beware… it’s incredibly fast and also a lot of fun to play. Definitely an upcoming classic for our live shows. Lyrically we’re into a very old topic – torture… in any form we are able to imagine. I am always impressed by the loads of energy and creativity mankind can invest in mistreating each other. If you think civilization got rid of these bad habits of medieval times, I sadly have to smash your illusions. It was always here and will always be. It only changed its look."
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.
"Mountains of Madness" has been recorded with ENGL equipment and both guitar shredders of TOTAL ANNIHILATION, Nicolas Stelz and Jürgen Schmid, feel honoured to be officially collaborating with the prestigious musical gear manufacturer now. The guitarists comment: "Total Annihilation runs on pure metal and solid bonds", Nicolas and Jürgen state in unison. "For that reason, we are stoked to announce our collaboration with ENGL Amplification – the masters of crushing guitar tones. Based in Germany and still a true family company, ENGL has set the standard for devastating distortion for decades. Their amps and gear are built to last, insanely versatile, and the weapon of choice for guitarists worldwide. We could not be more thrilled – prepare for total sonic destruction: annihilate 'em all!"
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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Quelle: SURE SHOT WORX