Belphegor, Austria’s blasting prophets of blasphemy unleash their latest offering of blood soaked blackened-death metal with Totenritual. Staying the course as they only know how, this album pummels and defiles the listener in the best way possible. Helmuth and the rest of his Satan obsessed cult members aren’t reinventing the wheel here, but rather expanding upon the fertile ground they have spent years tilling and corrupting.

As the successor to The Conjuring, we find new tempos and arrangements further explored here. While there are still blast-beats for days, new skin beater Bloodhammer expands his brutal drumming palate for more variety this time around and it is a welcome change. There are a multitude of tempos, textures with clean guitars, and overall variety in songwriting not seen at this depth previously. While most fans know what they are going to get from Belphegor, there are enough twists and surprises to make this a compelling listen and a strong contribution to their sizeable catalogue.