Label: Purity Through Fire
Genre: Black Metal / War Black Metal
Format: Vinyl / CD / Cassette
Translation note:
“Kriegswesen” is German and can be read as “The Nature of War” or “War Entity.”
The word implies war as a living system or state of being — mechanical, impersonal, and inhuman.
Description:
Kriegswesen (“The Nature of War”) is a cold and uncompromising release from Totenwache, presenting black metal as disciplined force rather than chaos. The album strips warfare of heroism and sentiment, portraying it instead as an impersonal machine that consumes identity and will alike.
Razor-edged tremolo riffs advance with rigid precision, driven by pounding, militaristic drumming and harsh vocals delivered with command-like authority. The songwriting favors repetition, momentum, and pressure, creating a suffocating atmosphere of inevitability. There is no emotional release here — only motion, control, and collapse.
Kriegswesen thrives on austerity and focus. Atmosphere is built through discipline rather than ambience, reinforcing the album’s core theme: war as structure, war as condition, war as entity. Black metal reduced to function and intent.