Temple of
Void – Demo MMXIII (2013)
Review by
Jude Felton
Remember,
back in the day, when bands used to put out demo’s before signing to labels?
Yeah, me too. Now, I know bands still do this, from time to time, but it doesn’t
seem as prevalent as it once was. Detroit’s Temple of Void has taken this route,
however, and has unleashed a 3 track assault weapon for us to enjoy.
Playing a
blend of death and doom metal, Demo MMXIII is a very assured introduction to
the band. Mind you, it’s not like that are the new fish in the jail yard, as
they have members that are, and were, in Acid Witch, Hellmouth and Borrowed
Time. This has obviously served them well, with this demo having good solid
production and, more importantly, very good songs.
Beyond the
Ultimate and Exanimate Gaze, which are the first two tracks, are both
mid-length tunes, clocking in at around 6 minutes each. Both tunes have
crushing guitar work and some great growled vocals. I’ll admit to be a little
thrown by a couple of sections, but both songs grew on me very quickly. While
neither track crawl along; think more mid-paced doom/death, Exanimate Gaze does
pick up speed a bit towards the end, having the effect of something akin to a
runaway train. Brutal stuff for sure.
The final
track is the 10 minute plus, Bargain in Death, and it’s here that Temple of
Void truly set out to destroy you. It’s an oppressively heavy tune that starts
off slow, with the guitars bearing down on you, and then builds up speed and
power, smothering you on its way down to Hell. Don’t get me wrong when I say
that Temple of Void’s tunes pick up speed in places. They are similar to a
freight train in that even at full speed they are not exactly flying along, but
you wouldn’t want to get in their way.
Quite
frankly, I enjoyed the Hell out of this 3 track demo. The band has everything
in the right place to move forward; tunes, a good sound and fine musicianship,
and hopefully move forward they will. This demo is available to listen to in
several places online, although I’m not a big fan of listening to tunes on the
computer; I’d much rather blast it through headphones or on a better sound
system. Still, even on a computer this does deliver. Demo MMXIII is also available
on CD and cassette, for the more traditional out there. However you decide to
listen to it, and you should, I think you’ll definitely enjoy it. Prepare to be
crushed.
Track List:
1. Beyond the Ultimate
2. Exanimate Gaze
3. Bargain in Death
Demo MMXIII can be purchased on Cassette from Til You Fukkin Bleed, or you can check them out on the Temple of Void Bandcamp page.
No comments:
Post a Comment