Detroit’s heaviest band Temple Of Void recently decided to trim down the doom in favor of a more death metal approach. What’s most remarkable is that they managed to cut out large portions of doom without losing an ounce of their hulking mass. In fact, the quintet’s sophomore album Lords of Death is undeniably more powerful than its freakishly monstrous predecessor. Turns out, death weighs more doom.
“We’re all really proud of the new record and are excited to unleash it upon the masses in July,” says TOV guitarist Alex Awn. “Lords of Death will feel familiar to Temple Of Void fans, while still packing some surprises and new ideas to keep it fresh. We’re certainly a death/doom band, but there’s a lot of territory and unique expression within the melding of death metal and doom metal that we can explore. In this case Lords of Death swings the pendulum further to the death side of the equation. The album is more succinct, the production is much heavier, and the songs are simply more crushing. The dynamics are still there, from the foreboding atmosphere and melancholy, to the head-bangable old school death metal riffing. It’s instantly recognizable as Temple of Void, and we’re blown away with the reception it’s gotten from the fans who have heard advanced copies.”
Renowned artist Paolo Giraridi with the finished artwork for the new Temple Of Void album.
“Our albums are the musical equivalent of a collection of short horror stories,” Awn explains. “We approach them in presentation and content just like it was a paperback anthology. Mike’s a great lyricist and he pens each song as a morbid glimpse into some unique nightmarish tale. There’s no connection between the songs, but the formula is always that of a grim narrative. ‘The Gift’ is a story Mike wrote about receiving a surprise package in the mail, the recipient opens it up to discover a skull, they’re obviously disturbed, and soon realizes the skull that was mailed to them is actually their own. Musically, ‘The Gift’ is probably the most straight ahead death metal track on the album, and it pairs well with the following track, ‘Graven Desires,’ which is probably the most doom oriented track on the album.”
Get Lords of Death July 28th from Shadow Kingdom.
