Totten Korps

Death metal outfit Totten Korps came together in Santiago, Chile, during 1989. A handful of demo recordings, among them 1990’s The King of Hell Reclaims His Throne and 1993’s Our Almighty Lords (both issued on Brazilian Hellion Records), circulated widely enough to plant the group firmly inside the extreme metal tape-trading network, yet internal lineup turmoil soon pushed the band into inactivity for several years. When activity resumed in 1998, founding guitarists Fernando Toro and vocalist Gerardo Valenzuela were augmented by Francisco T. on guitar, Cristian Ortíz on bass, and Sergio Aravena on drums; the refreshed lineup inked a deal with Repulse Records, only to encounter further setbacks that forced the shelving of a finished album whose production and sonics proved unacceptable. After Valenzuela’s departure—prompting bassist Ortíz to handle vocals—and the exit of guitarist Francisco, who was succeeded by Cristian Soto, Totten Korps finally reached an international audience in 2001 via the album THARNHEIM: ATHI-LAND-NHI, Cyclopean Crypts of Citadels.