Genre/Influences: Industrial, Trance, Tribal.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: LivingTotem is back on track unleashing its fourth full length album; the second released on Ant-Zen, this time in collaboration with Raumklang Music. LivingTotem is the sonic brainchild of Hungarian artist András Gulyás. 

Content: “Surreal Existence” moves on there where the previous work (cf. “Raw Effort”) stopped. The work is a new symbiosis between different influences, which are mainly driven by Industrial music, but achieved with Trance passages and Tribal percussion patterns. It’s an exciting production featuring songs that have been progressively built up, coming pretty close to a total climax. Some passages are more cinematographic, but globally speaking the Industrial-Trance & Tribal approach is ruling over this work. The last track features guest vocals (and also is the single cut with vocals) by Metal singer Attila Csihar.

+ + + : LivingTotem remains a great experience in sound, a project dealing with related music influences, but featuring less influences than other names in the genre. I’m not comparing this project to This Morn’Omina, but there are similar influences. Especially the Trance and Tribal parts make sense and create the project’s originality. The songs have been progressively built up and joined by overwhelming rhythmic. The last song featuring Attila Scihar is a great experiment and the single song that really ends in a total apotheosis. The album is however diversified, but definitely a total ravishment from start till finish. LivingTotem moves on composing music from a real high qualitative level!

– – – : I think a few songs are missing a total climax, which is maybe the difference with the previous work. It however is a great album I can only, but highly recommend.

Conclusion: If you’re in search of Industrial music with something extra and different from the mass, LivingTotem definitely sounds as one of the very few alternatives! This is a project definitely deserving more recognition!

Best songs: “Cyclone Of Haarp”, “Underwater Bonefires”, “Corruption-Friendly Comrade”, “Macrocosm Of Corpse Candidates”, “Yoshino Mausoleum”.

Rate: (9).

Artist: www.facebook.com/LivingTotem-1444034325824760

Label: www.ant-zen.com / www.facebook.com/antzen.official