TOTAL ANNIHILATION DROP NEW SINGLE AND VIDEO “BENEATH THE CROSS”
Photo Credit: Nicolas Gysin
Swiss death-thrash outfit Total Annihilation have released a new music video for their latest single, “Beneath the Cross,” offering a final preview of their upcoming album Mountains of Madness. The record arrives January 16, 2026, which also marks the band’s 20th year together.
“Beneath the Cross” captures the band’s familiar mix of sharp, thrash-driven riffing and heavier death-metal weight, delivered with the confidence of a group deep into its second decade. The song is direct, aggressive, and lyrically pointed—something guitarist Jürgen Schmid says came from a personal place. He explains that the track confronts how religion can exploit people by selling false hope. “There is no paradise,” he says. “In death there is only darkness. So better take care of your own life and stop telling others what is right or wrong.”
Schmid also revealed that the melodic line at the center of the track is something he wrote as a young teenager and had been waiting years to use. “I wrote it at twelve or thirteen and always hoped to find the right song for it,” he says. “Here we are, and I’m very happy with the result.”
The music video, directed by Luca Piazzalonga and filmed by Daniel Rochat, reflects the song’s darker themes through stark imagery and a tension-heavy visual style. Rather than telling a literal story, the video leans on atmosphere, focusing on ritualistic visuals and a sense of looming menace that fit the track's mood.
Mountains of Madness will be the band’s fourth album and their first in several years. Early signs point to a record that doubles down on the rawness and intensity fans expect while pushing further into the thematic territory the group has explored since their formation. With two decades behind them, Total Annihilation sounds determined to enter this new era with purpose.
The video for “Beneath the Cross” is available now on YouTube, and the album is currently up for pre-sale through SPKR. With the single setting the tone, Mountains of Madness looks poised to be a defining release for the band’s anniversary year.
Tracklist
1. The Art of Torture
2. Mountains of Madness
3. Illusion
4. Chokehold
5. Choose the Day
6. Age of Mental Suicide
7. Nyctophobia
8. Beneath the Cross
9. Invisible Conflagration
10. Lost Forever
11. Hate Remains