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Interviews Totengott

Interview with drummer Jose Mora

Interview conducted by Luxi Lahtinen

Date online: December 26, 2024


Top picture by Jaime Garcia Concert Photographer

Totengott is a three-piece metal band hailing from Asturias, Spain, formed in 2013, that mixed doom, thrash and death metal with some industrial elements, just to spice things up a little bit. The band released their third album, Beyond the Veil, on Hammerheart Records in July 2024, which was well received among the metal audience.

We here at the headquarters of The Metal Crypt thought it would be an appropriate time to check in with the band. We approached drummer Jose Mora with a few questions, and he politely took his time to tell us about the album and provided insight into the morbid and grim world of Totengott....

So, how's life in Spain? Waiting for the winter to come and kill all that heat and humidity that's hanging in the air, eh?

Jose: Hello Luxi! Thanks so much for your interest! The dark season has arrived with its darkness, but also with a bunch of shows to support Beyond the Veil, so we won't complain about that!

THIRD ALBUM – BEYOND THE VEIL

Speaking of that, my sincere congrats on your third album, which sounds darn good in my honest opinion. How pleased are you with it, now that it's been out for some months already? Do you feel you accomplished everything you were originally after?

Jose: To be honest, we are very happy with how things turned out with Beyond the Veil. The album sounds massive, the songs are, we believe, great, the artwork, the guest appearances, etc. We took our time to prepare the album, and we are very proud of the final product. Most of the reviews are either positive or very positive, so all is good. We agree with most opinions that point out that this is our best album so far.

How would you describe the making of the album compared to your two previous albums? Was it easier to make or did you feel that it was tougher because you wanted to make a better album the two before?

Jose: I can tell you that this was the most challenging Totengott album to date. The first two albums were written and recorded in a very spontaneous manner. In fact, when Doppelgänger was released, we had already written the songs for "The Abyss" and were occasionally playing them live. With Beyond the Veil, we faced a lot of challenges. We were in a great place after The Abyss was released, and following our first European tour, being booked for some festivals here and there then the pandemic hit, some personal circumstances arose, we couldn't rehearse for a long time, etc. When the time came to start working on a new album, we had some home demos written, but nothing definitive about what to use and what not to use. We wanted to push the limits with our third album, so we wrote a lot of new music to make sure we had the best material for the record. We actually wrote enough material for three albums, and there was a moment during the writing process when we even explored the idea of making the record one full 40-minute-long song. That didn't work out as we had hoped. It wasn't bad, but it felt too forced so, we shifted to a different perspective: we created shorter songs, all varied, with their own personality, but more direct. It turned out great.

Did you have any reference albums in mind for the sound on Beyond the Veil?

Jose: I don't think we have specific album references in terms of "wanting to sound like this or that," but we do have a good mix of influences. One of the most important things for us is that the album has "ambience," that it has "atmosphere." Apart from being oppressive, heavy, and dark, obviously. With that in mind, you can feel that at some moments we might have a Pink Floyd influence, or Bathory, or The Cure, or Dead Can Dance...

GUESTS ARE COOL...

Eric Forrest (ex-Voïvod, E-Force) did some guest vocals on the track "Beyond the veil Part II: Necromancer." How did you persuade him to do those guest vocals? Apparently, he's already a fan of the band, if I am not mistaken...?

Jose: Eric was going to sing on The Abyss but couldn't make it due to scheduling conflicts and deadlines, but it turned out great, as he fits perfectly into the "Voïvodian" part of "Necromancer." We have known each other for a few years since we shared the stage with E-Force, and we believe he likes the band a lot and was eager and happy to be part of the record. For us, it is an honor having him on board, as we've listened to Voïvod and the records he's been part of for years! It's like when we had Kam Lee from Massacre on "The Spell" from The Abyss album—an honor, as we grew up listening to these guys!

Were there any other guests who would have been nice additions to this record?

Jose: We didn't think of other guests for this album, apart from the ones we had (Eric Forrest, JF Fiar from Jade/Graveyard/Foscor, and Marija Krstevska for the female vocals). For the future, we have our preferences and wish lists, obviously, but we don't know yet if we are even going to add any guests apart from Marija, whom we know for sure we want to keep writing music with her voice.

THINGS DON'T ALWAYS GO AS PLANNED

When you were making this record, did you face any obstacles that caused some extra gray hair?

Jose: Too many obstacles! Even a global pandemic, hahaha...!! Apart from other personal matters that made us go through a bit of a rough patch in finding the right inspiration or even the right moment to get the three of us together to work on music. We were also extremely demanding with what we wanted to achieve with these songs, so we took our time to write, rewrite, arrange, rearrange, and then later record, mix, and master. We even had an unexpected three-month delay with the artwork, as the artist who was initially going to work on it dropped the project after weeks of keeping us waiting. But all's well that ends well.

WORKING IN DIFFERENT STUDIOS

You used different studios to get the album fully finished. What was the reason for that?

Jose: Well, mostly due to logistics and working with the right people for each aspect of the album. For the drums, we wanted to record them at RedGain Studios here in Gijón, Asturias. The studio is owned by Carlos Suarez, with whom I play in another band called Mad Rovers. Apart from him being a great studio engineer and producer, the studio has a lot of great equipment, and he knows me well—knows how I play—and we have already recorded drums together for the Mad Rovers album. The drum recording was a big improvement. For the rest of the instruments and vocals, they were recorded by us under Chou's supervision. He has a great vision and experience in doing this type of recording and doing it "on our own' allowed us to take our time and work without any pressure or rush, just looking to get the right takes and our best performance. The mix was done by Javi Felez at Moontower Studios (Barcelona). He is a close friend of the band, understands what we do, and loves our music (or so he says!), so he was our first choice. He did an outstanding job. The final touch was done by Jaime Gomez Arellano, who mastered the album at Orgone Studios (Porto). What can we say about him? Just look at his CV: Opeth, Paradise Lost, Cathedral, Solstafir, Ghost and Moonspell. The list is never-ending, and most of them are top names. Having the opportunity to work with him was great. All of them helped make this album sound the way it does!

Are you happy with the response for Beyond the Veil?

Jose: Yes! Most of the reviews have been either positive or very positive. Not all of them, of course, but overall, the response has been great. We've also gained many new fans and listeners who love the album and consider it our best one so far. So yes, the feedback has been fantastic!

The album has seven songs all in all. Which of them makes you most proud of, for one reason or the other?

Jose: If you ask me, "The Architect," with its near-industrial darkness and heaviness, "Necromancer" as the thrashiest, headbanging track on the album, and "The Golden Crest," a 14-minute orchestrated epic that showcases our trademark sound, are the three standout cuts on the record. That said, each track has its own unique beauty.

NEW HOME – HAMMERHEART RECORDS

How satisfied are the staff of Hammerheart Records with the sales of your new album so far, and do you also feel it got promoted enough from their side before it hit the markets?

Jose: Hammerheart Records has given us tremendous support for the album. They loved it even when we sent them the demo version before it was properly recorded, and they've definitely helped take our music to new audiences. We've truly felt the impact of their efforts, and hopefully, we can continue collaborating in the future. Kudos to them!

I am curious to know how the deal happened with them. You were on Dave's Xtreem Music earlier, were you not you happy with how things were handled when you had a deal with Dave's label?

Jose: As you mentioned, our first two albums were released by Xtreem Music (CD version) and Burning World Records (vinyl version). We had no issues with them; they supported the band, did an excellent job with those albums, and helped bring Totengott to a wide audience. We'll always be grateful to them. However, after two records, it's natural to seek new opportunities and explore different possibilities for growth. That said, there are absolutely no hard feelings! Who knows, maybe we'll collaborate again in the future.

NEW STUFF IS BREWING...

How much new material for the band's 4th full-length do you have ready, even though I know you just got your third album out not that long ago? Do you see all three of you in the band as very creative persons who always have something going on, creative-wise?

Jose: We already have some demos and ideas that we're slowly starting to work on. One thing's for sure, we don't plan to take another five years for the next album! The new music is still in its early stages, but the plan is to get together in early 2025, between some gigs, to start rehearsing and see where this next album adventure takes us. Each of us brings our own creativity to the table. Chou writes most of the music, but we all contribute our vision to the songs, concepts, lyrics, and more. Beyond the Veil was our most collaborative effort so far, so who knows, maybe the next one will be even more so. Let's see where it leads!

You have done some shows around your home turf in Spain lately. Have you planned to tour outside of Spain in the future, like doing a proper European tour in the fall, or at some point next year?

Jose: We are working on some things for 2025. We cannot announce or confirm anything just yet, but we will keep you posted!

Do you feel it's a pretty hard task to arrange a proper tour nowadays?

Jose: Yes, especially for a self-managed band like ours without the backing of a major booking agency, it's a challenging task and something we know we need to improve. We all have day jobs and family commitments, so we must balance those with not only creating music but also organizing gigs so people can experience our music live. It's definitely an area we want to take to the next level. It would be amazing to have someone represent the band, helping us find gigs and reach new audiences, but we haven't found the right person yet.

... AND, THE FUTURE?

What kind of goals have you set for Totengott in the future? I bet total world domination sounds, eh (!), pretty cool actually... ;o)

Jose: Ahaha, yes, total world domination sounds great! But realistically, our goal is to keep creating new music, getting it out there, and reaching new audiences. We'd love to play a bunch of shows in cool places, meet new people, share some beers, try new food, and enjoy some unforgettable experiences along the way!

Well, I think that's all I had in mind for this conversation, Jose, so thanks a lot for your time and all the best to you and Totengott in the future. May the closing words belong to you now...

Jose: We just want to thank you, Luxi, for your patience and support of Totengott, it means a lot to us. Also, to anyone who is reading this: if we're performing near your town, come say hello! See you on the road!

Other information about Totengott on this site
Review: Beyond the Veil




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