Toteninsel ( translated to English as The Island Of The Dead) is the twenty-fifth album from Allerseelen- the Austrian project that brews up a highly distinct mix of Folk & Industrial music.  They often blend in other genres to their sound such as- bleak new wave/ post-punk, traditional Germanic folk, world music influences, avant-garde pop, jazz, neo-classical, etc.

This recent CD release features sixteen tracks- with lead songwriter/ vocalist Gerhard Hallstatt being joined by a selection of musical friends and collaborators for another decidedly varied album that truly darts all over the genre map.

As we’ve come to expect from an Allerseelen release- there is a lot of thought put into the use of pictures & images for the album. The CD comes presented in a four-panel digipak, on the front and back cover we get very blue/ wintery pictures- on the front, a snow-covered monument and on the back rain/ ice droplets flowers. Inside/ in the inlay booklet we find pictures of a stone knight, a horn & bowl, and several pictures of a woodland set graveyard.

The first half of the album opens up in a fine galloping-if-brooding fashion with “Dies Irae (AimA)” which brings together a cold snapping beat, moodily strummed bass, and a blend of choral chanted to malevolently warbling female vocals. There’s the bounding “Ich hatt einen Kameraden” with its tolling ‘n’ rolling bass & guitar, skittering rail-like rhythms, and slightly cow-boy-goes Germanic feel. We have the slow stabbing keys, violin sample swoon, bass plod, dusty/ slight glitching beats/ productions, and a plaintive spoken word male vocals of “Liekki”. There’s the steady/ churning flow of “Sterbelied” with droning bass slog, glum acoustic guitar touches, swirling haze/ jarring percussion production, and brooding vocals than no other M. Percht- of alpine- folk innovators Sturmpercht.

Moving onto the second half of the album we have the urgent & slightly martial unease “Staubdämonen”- with its rounding blend of rumbling drums ‘n’ bass, rapidly slicing electro percussion and cold Germanic male vocals. There’s the sampled harp urgency, meets descend guitars, bass plod, and slight mist male spoken word of “Der Tod als Geschenk”. With the album playing out with “Pontikonisi” a hazed and pull-out ethnic post-rock meets steady galloping metal and metal percussion instrumental.

The  Allerseelen project is now in its thirty-six year, and with Toteninsel they sound as sonically invigorated & genre mixing inspired as ever. I always think it’s a true crying shame that this project doesn’t get more recognition with the wider euro industrial/experimental scenes- as they have such a distinctive and creative sound. Head here to buy a copy directly from the band.