Finally, the weekend is upon us. What better way to kick it off than with the latest installment of "Funeral Doom Friday". For those who are new to this column; each week features a new or classic album from the realm of extreme doom. Much of funeral/death doom's might comes from an oppressive emotional weight and the use of death or black metal motifs (played at a trudging pace, of course.) Pioneers like Mournful Congregation, Evoken, and Esoteric have mastered this blend of dirge and destruction. For 25 years, they have methodically built compositions that stretch for dozens of minutes all while keeping fans enthralled. Time has elapsed since the days of Thergothon and much like the world around us, the genre has evolved. Today's modern bands contort the very construct of the genre, breeding darkly refreshing new work. Their work thankfully gives this column plenty of material to share.
Enjoy this week's post and check out prior features here. Please feel free to also share thoughts or suggestions for future installments in the comments section below or to me directly on Twitter.
For the Detroit, Michigan quintet of Temple of Void, high praise has come quickly and in heaps, since their first demo released in May of 2013. The band has been making some of the darkest and most engrossing death-doom over the last four years. While the band has pulled off a lot in such a short amount of time; a lot of it should be contributed the members' collective years in underground metal and their understanding of its various histories. Temple of Void describes themselves as "…the somber sound of early British doom while channeling the energy and devastation of old school American death metal."
It is certainly an accurate descriptor. Their second full-length album, Lords of Death, walks between both of these schools of thought. Maybe it is a profound appreciation of the storied early 90's at Peaceville Records; Lords of Death at times feels as though Autopsy and Paradise Lost recorded Acts of the Unspeakable and Shades of God in the same studio at the same time. Mike Erdody's thunderous voice is reminiscent of the vocal arrangements of Chris Reifert and Nick Holmes over 25 years ago, yet he brings a newfound ferocity to that style with Temple of Void's music.
The two-pronged attack of guitars from Alex Awn and Eric Blanchard weaves together vicious riffs and rhythm. Meanwhile, the low-end of Brent Satterly (bass) and Jason Pearce (drums) anchors Temple of Void. Combined, the band's range stretches to scintillating ends. Intro and interlude, "The Charnel Unearthing" and "An Ominous Journey" showcase the dance between guitars. Lulled passages of notes or chords provide segues into greater and more brutish tracks. Personal favorites "A Watery Internment" and the closing track, "Deceiver in the Shadows" highlight how proficient and dynamic Temple of Void is. However, each song on the album is an instance as to where the bar has been set for modern death-doom. Few bands are able to reach this sort of peak so quickly. For the Michigan quintet, they're in very rare company.
Pick up Lords of Death now. Digital and CD copies can be found at Temple of Void's Bandcamp page. Vinyl and other band gear are up at Shadow Kingdom Records.
