Review by Michael on June 21, 2026.

After their 2020 debut Crimson Towers, German doomsters Moontowers are back on the doom metal front with their sophomore release, Lethal Messiah. The album arrived more or less without much media promotion, so hopefully this review can help spread the word a little further.

'Towerlords', the opening track, is a mid-paced stomper with cool vocals (half-spoken, half-sung) that remind me a little of old Carnivore. And the guitars… well, if you know the band, it won’t come as a huge surprise. If you are familiar with the German black/thrash scene, you might already anticipate it: Infernal K. from Desaster is responsible for the melodies, and his signature style is quite obvious. Of course, this isn’t Desaster’s speed, but their typical trademarks, especially that slight “medieval” touch in the riffing, are very striking throughout the album.

The same goes for the next track, 'Leviathan', which is more doom-oriented, more epic, and more majestic. Once again, the vocals fit perfectly to enhance the atmosphere, and the guitar solos are really cool. This is a great heavy/doom song with a lot of power, much like the biblical Leviathan crushing ships in an epic battle.

Another track where you can clearly hear the familiar Desaster trademarks is 'Kenoma'. This one is quite close to older works such as 'Divine Blasphemies' and 'Tyrants Of The Netherworld'. However, with Dommermuth’s rough, deep vocals, it still gains a very distinctive identity.

The most diverse vocal performance can probably be found on the title track, 'Lethal Messiah'. Here, Dommermuth attempts more clean singing, which is somewhat of a double-edged sword. In some parts of the song, it works very well, while in others it sounds a little strained. The track also reveals one of the album’s few production issues. Compared to the rest of the instruments, the vocals are pushed a bit too far to the front, occasionally overpowering the music and making it harder to follow the instrumental details.

But enough about individual tracks. It is enough to say that the music is really good, and I wouldn’t say that any song falls behind the others. After all, this quartet has been active in the German metal scene for a long time. If you like doom metal, you should definitely get your copy of Lethal Messiah. And if you are a fan of traditional heavy metal—or, well, I won’t mention that band anymore—there is also plenty here to enjoy.

Let’s hope the guys receive the attention they deserve. And if you get the chance to see them live, grab a ticket. I had the pleasure of seeing them at Andernach Metal Days 2023, and they delivered a really cool performance.

Rating: 8 out of 10