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░ ██ ██ Artist: The Temple ██ ██
▓ █░░ ■█ Album: Forevermourn █■ ░░█
■ █▓▀ █ Year: 2016 █ ▀▓█ ░
█ ▓ Rel. Date: 2016-05-29 ▓ █
▒ ▒ Genre: Metal ▒ ▒
█▄ ░ Label: I Hate ░ ▄█
░ █▄ ░ Source: CD ░ ▄█
░ █▓ Type: Album ▓█ ░
▓ █ Quality: VBR, 44.1kHz, Joint Stereo █ ░ ▓
▓ █ █ ░ ▓
▄ ■ ■ ▓ ■
░█ █░ ▀
█ Greeks The Temple are part of a new wave of █
█ European acts who pay either conscious or █
█ unconscious homage to the crushing, dreary, Gothic █
█ doom foretold by bands like Candlemass and Scald █
█ over the decades past. Slower paced, mournful █
█ rhythms driven by a straight rock beat, with █
█ distinct vocals. Never devolving into a morass of █
█ riffless sludge or boredom, or dragging their █
█ songs out to the point of insidious repetition. █
█ Sabbath is certainly a reference, as they are with █
█ all bands in this tradition, but The Temple layers █
█ on a lot of humble melodies that give the █
█ Forevermourn's compositions a slightly more █
█ uplifting edge to the melancholy on exhibit, and █
█ many of them feel as if they were forged in the █
█ fires of traditional British heavy metal, like a █
█ more creeping echo of classic Maiden harmonies █
█ adapted for a funeral. █
█ Frontman/bassist Father Alex has a clean, █
█ mid-to-upper range which falls between a higher █
█ pitched Peter Steele and the Finnish Goth metal █
█ stylings of a band like To/Die/For or Yearning. A █
█ chant, a crooning effect. Consistent above the █
█ slough of sadness created by the guitars, but █
█ never really throwing anything from left field, so █
█ his process does feel rather predictable as you █
█ sojourn across the seven cuts. This is also due █
█ largely to the fact that they very often play with █
█ the same structure and tempo, occasionally added █
█ some bombast with double bass drums, or slowing to █
█ an even more sluggish crawl in sequences that feel █
█ like more funereal doom without the gutturals. █
█ Some of these passages, like in "Death the Only █
█ Mourner" really shine, the vocals and sparse █
█ chords coming together with some real emotional █
█ impact. The bass is also really fat and juicy, █
█ compensating a little for the rhythm guitar tone, █
█ which is pretty subdued since they implement so █
█ many melodies. █
█ On the downside, while it's by no means a deal █
█ breaker, it wouldn't kill The Temple to invest in █
█ a little more variation, even if that means █
█ bringing in other instruments for greater, somber █
█ depths. Acoustic pianos and strings would go █
█ brilliantly into and out of some of these █
█ progressions. I liked the album, but I did feel █
█ that many of the riffs were a little too similar, █
█ and a bit further guidance from legends like █
█ Sabbath or Candlemass in how to diversify the █
█ offerings would go a long way to creating a better █
█ rounded album. The level of evenness here does █
█ show that the Greeks can start off and finish a █
█ record fairly strong, and the album overall █
█ cultivates a moody, organic production which helps █
█ avoid the sterilization that often comes with █
█ over-wrought, over-polished Gothic doom metal █
█ which is too clean to crush your sunshine. █
█ Majestic doom, for sure, but just needs a few more █
█ shades of color to stand out even further from the █
█ legion lamentations already set to record. █
█ █
█ --- █
█ █
█ Ah, doom metal, admittedly easy to play and █
█ compose if you want your band to be plain and dry █
█ but thatÆs not what these Greek dudes did, oh no. █
█ The quartet from Thessaloniki has been alive for a █
█ while but this is only their debut album. It took █
█ a long time for the band leader, Alex (bass, █
█ vocals, compositions), to find an appropriate █
█ lineup since like doom metal, life is not always █
█ an happy affair and sometimes many things can stop █
█ you from achieving your vision. IÆm glad that in █
█ the end, nothing could stop Alex and his love for █
█ traditional doom. LetÆs enter the temple in his █
█ company. █
█ The seven songs of Forevermourn are mournful █
█ affairs but theyÆre far from being timid slow █
█ numbers full of despair. Tracks like ôRemnantsö █
█ are relatively mid-paced busy songs full of twin █
█ guitar melodies recalling the heydays of epic doom █
█ but The Temple is infusing this style with the █
█ depressive, emotional style of Warning or the █
█ current German doom of Cross Vault (that I █
█ personally thought to be underwhelming). Alex and █
█ company are also adding slight black metal touches █
█ to the fold in certain guitar moments and itÆs █
█ well done. What differentiates the Greeks from █
█ some of their peers is the actual quality of their █
█ instrumentation, itÆs heavy, never whiny and soul █
█ crushing. █
█ AlexÆs vocals are clean highs that fits his music █
█ very well. ThereÆs loads of melancholy in the █
█ somewhat buried singing and while heÆs not on the █
█ same level as Messiah Marcolin or Markus Becker █
█ (Atleantean Kodex), he gets the job done. IÆd say █
█ that like the songs, heÆs a bit samey and some █
█ diversity would had been better but thereÆs still █
█ not a lot of weaknesses in the songwriting. IÆm █
█ not asking æem to add strings or whatever, this █
█ would be silly as they donÆt try to be My Dying █
█ Bride, but some tempo variations could be cool. █
█ Nevertheless, the identity they developed on this █
█ debut album is clear, itÆs dreamy but sad █
█ traditional doom metal. █
█ Thick basslines, memorable melodies, sweet guitar █
█ leads, I donÆt want to leave the temple, IÆd mourn █
█ there forever. █
▓ ▓
▒ ▒
░ 1. The Blessing 5:15 ░
░ 2. Qualms in Regret 7:28 ░
░ 3. Remnants 7:20 ░
░ 4. Death the Only Mourner 8:49 ░
░ 5. Mirror of Souls 5:57 ░
░ 6. Beyond the Stars 6:55 ░
░ 7. Until Grief Reaps Us Apart 12:30 ░
░ 54:14 ░
░ ▒ ▒
▓ █ ░ ▓ ░
■ █▄ ░ ██
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