Dominance of Darkness Records has announced a December 17 international release for Totätänzer, the second album from Swiss black metal act SZIVILIZS. The record will be available on CD and vinyl LP, and its opening song, “Fründ Hain,” has been shared through the label’s official YouTube channel.
The album takes the Renaissance as its thematic focus, with drummer Dyet joining mainman SZIVILIZS. The announcement places historical romanticism and Swiss mountain imagery alongside a broader meditation on mortality: “Death spares no one. It awaits us all, be it a farmer's wife, a young upstart, or an emperor.”
Musically, the label describes a combination of synthesizers, buzzing strings and emotive screams, supported by patient, measured rhythms that do not remain exclusively slow. Atmosphere and bittersweet melody are central to its account of the record. The announcement cites early Abigor, Emperor and Behemoth alongside Lustre, Ungfell and Darkenhöld as reference points, framing the music within SZIVILIZS’ medieval black metal approach.
SZIVILIZS issued their first demo in 2019. Three splits and an EP followed before the debut album, Grabsuchtslieder, arrived in 2022. Totätänzer continues that discography as the act’s second full-length; the announcement supplies December 17 as its release date without specifying a year.
The newly revealed cover artwork is credited to Luciana Nedelea. “Fründ Hain” leads the eight-song running order, followed by “Kaisertod,” “Gaugäfäuder,” “Bärner Jungfer,” “Chlepfsaft,” “Minnesang,” “Das Landschnächtslied” and “Vo Siechä u Cheibä.”