Abaddon magazine

Tag: Fallen Temple

  • Review: Mondocane – Dvala

    Review: Mondocane – Dvala

    Label: Fallen Temple / Cold Sun Productions

    Date: December 2nd, 2021

    Meanwhile, in Sweden, you accidentally leave a copy of your favorite black metal CD somewhere in the forest and, before long, you will get a new, beautiful sprout. Let’s call it Mondocane.

    There’s not a lot of information about this band floating around. The one thing I could find is that “Dvala” is their debut full length, released about nine months after the EP that saw the entity arise from the fertile soil of Swedish black metal scene. What’s more, all three songs from the mentioned EP found their place on this album, too. Along with five other ones.

    So, a young band, formed by God knows who and with what experience, if any at all. And with a cover art such as it is, things looked shady to begin with.

    However, already on “Blinding”, the opening track of this record, it fell into place. The song is the perfect announcement of the capabilities of Mondocane. Fast, dynamic, epic and atmospheric black metal, carefully crafted and imaginative. It was, for me at least, somewhat of a similar experience as I had when first I heard Mgła. Though the song gives out some of the similar aura to the famed Poles, it is noticeable that they are not the sole influence on this young Swedish unit. I also thought of Kampfar, early Enslaved… But the point is that the track reveals just what can be expected from Mondocane. Especially with that ingenious riff that guides it.

    Okay, the rest is not on the same high level of creativity. But, what makes “Dvala” interesting throughout is that Mondocane peaks in other directions as well. A couple of instrumental tracks give a differing vibe to the album. For instance, “No Signal”, the first of them is an atmospheric, doomy track, followed by melancholic keyboards and sampling. It is, sort of, introduced with the ending of “Daeth” with the signal for the end of one’s existence. The song in and of itself is, I repeat, not on the same level as “Blinding”, but it remains a welcomed change of pace and place.

    Now, when I speak of creative leveling, don’t get me wrong, “Dvala” retains a solid structure and is high above average. Perhaps one or two tracks could do with more thought and imaginative strive. Like “All the Way down” which is a straight forward black metal track like we’ve all heard many times before.

    Still, it does not take too much away from “Dvala”. The record is a strong outing for a young band. Could it have been better? Yes, it could. Given the potential on display, perhaps it even should have been. We could speak of an opportunity not taken, but I choose to think of this album as a build-up to some potential greatness Mondocane will deliver in the future.

     

  • Review: Lucifer’s Children – Signs of Saturn

    Review: Lucifer’s Children – Signs of Saturn

    Label: Fallen Temple

    Date: September 2nd, 2021

    You know what made Black Sabbath so grand back in the early 1970’s? First of all, the trademarked riffing by Mr. Iommi. Then there was the unmistakable voice of Mr. Osbourne. The cryptic, eerie aura they managed to create. Plus, it wasn’t quite a regular thing to hear a band singing about the macabre side of the world in those years, which added mystique and controversy to the whole thing. And we all know how controversy has a nasty little habit of making everyone’s head turn.

    But the most important aspect that made Sabbath such an epic engine of doom were the songs themselves. Those evergreen hits, such as “Black Sabbath”, “N.I.B.”, “The Wizard”, “Paranoid”, “War Pigs”… Fifty years have come and gone since then and all of you can easily hum them all, through and through. Absolutely unforgettable songs.

    And here’s my point. This Paraguayan quartet completely nails all of the above, except for the last one. Well, okay, perhaps the themes covered are no longer a taboo, but you get what I’m saying.

    The six songs present on Lucifer’s Children’s second full length record are all good, but far from being the future reference points of primeval doom metal.

    The riffing is up to the standards, the voice (female) is unusual enough, the rhythm section does what is necessary; but Black Sabbath they are not, no matter how hard they try. And that’s just it. I do not know how long I can keep writing this review without repeating myself.

    Perhaps if you put “Signs of Saturn” into perspective of the band’s origin, you might get intrigued to hear just how Black Sabbath would sound if they were born in Paraguay. But even then, the answer is obvious. Basically the same. With just the production work being somewhat modernized, but that’s only the sign of a new era in technology.

    Otherwise, Lucifer’s Children are a derivate of the famed Brits, with nothing new to offer, or a personal touch to enrich that offering.

    I’ve said it above and I’ll say it again. “Signs of Saturn” is a good album. Or rather, a correct one. The band checks out all the reference points of their heroes work. No more and no less. But there was only one Tony Iommi, only one Ozzy Osbourne, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward. The magic they invoked has yet to be repeated, duplicated with the same results in effect.

    Meanwhile, Lucifer’s Children are for those who are uncritically seeking a quick fix of the old doom metal or are compelled by the “exotic” country of origin.

     

  • Review: Wan – Antichristian Douchebags

    Review: Wan – Antichristian Douchebags

    Label: Fallen Temple / Corrupted Flesh Records

    Date: February 25th, 2022

    Talk about a band that doesn’t take themselves too seriously, yes, this is the official title of the record. The previous one was called “Wan Way to Hell”, so that’s nothing all that new when it comes to these Swedish blasphemers. Furthermore, all of their full length records are made up of thirteen songs. A bit of a cringe, as the youngsters of today would call it.

    But shouldn’t we all be tired of black metal bands acting like they couldn’t utter a smile even when their grandmothers offer them cookies? Oh, yes, black metal is a serious genre. It’s much more than music. It’s negativity personified. Devil worshippers with inverted crosses photographed at a local cemetery wearing corpse-paint. Fine, but must it always look like that? Not to mention that in most cases it ends up with boring music. Or, as the fans call it, cult / necro / grim black metal.

    Wan keeps the imagery to a certain degree, but we’re talking about a quartet of down-to-Earth fellas one could easily imagine sitting in a local bar, having fun.

    And their music is far from boring!

    Precisely, they delve on the crossroad of first and second wave black metal. In other words, black metal with thrash intakes. Of course, nowhere near to reinventing the genre. Derivative? Sure, but why not? Cold and filthy? Absolutely, what’s wrong with that? Old school to the bone, and then some! The last track yells out: “We bring you back to the roots of metal”.

    See? They’re proud of it! So, don’t sit back and relax. Stand up and bang the head until the brain oozes out through your nose.

    Anyway, back to music itself and description of it. I won’t be long, I promise. There is not much to say about such a primordial music anyway. Surely you’ve heard it all before. Which is no reason not to try Wan out. Especially since they managed to create a fine album out of bits and pieces of old formulas.

    The Swedes are incorporating all of the blinding fury of early Marduk, adding it on top of the primeval Venom worship. This way, they achieve a combo of various tempos that always seem aggressive and insulting to the crucified one. On the atmospheric side, when it is apparent (just a few selected cases), Wan could be tied to early Darkthrone or Burzum.

    Naturally, Wan doesn’t go for instrumental mastery. Instead, the quartet is shooting for catchiness. Quite successfully, I might add, since the songs do tend to stick to your mind. Plus, they force you to headbang. Unless you are a poor reviewer that has to sit down and type.

    Luckily, I’m not all that good, so I needed quite a few spins before I sat down. And I’m old, so my neck is aching like hell right now. Maybe I should better turn “Antichristian Douchebags” off and go lay down? Hell no!

     

  • Review: Burial Choir – The Eucharist of Martyrs

    Review: Burial Choir – The Eucharist of Martyrs

    Label: Fallen Temple

    Date: September 20th, 2021

    I have been to so many funerals, and to be honest, just to put myself above the pain and grief, in my head were always happy songs. If I would even think of funeral doom metal, I would probably be six feet under because I always considered it boring (to death). If the band’s name is Burial Choir, what might they deliver? Let’s take it slow…

    We are actually talking about the Finnish project led by Mikko Lehto and Mika Havumäki. After they released debut album “Iconoclast” in 2016, Burial Choir hit with “The Eucharist of Martyrs” in late September 2021. This time, the band has the support of Polish label Fallen Temple. “The Eucharist of Martyrs” contains four songs with a total play time around 40 minutes, which is quite acceptable if we are talking about the funeral doom metal.

    Lyrical themes are of course fitting the genre, but if you closely look at its structure, you will see you are dealing with masterfully done compositions. The band built a great atmosphere around the lyrical composition. 

    The first song “Anathema” is a ten minutes long slow pace song (do I really need to say it since we know which genre we are facing here?). You might notice that drums are really minimally used and the whole atmosphere is built with precision or even perfection. In this song, to be precise, guitars dominate as well as slightly growl vocals.

    The second one, also a ten minutes long song, “The Eucharist of Martyrs”, is led by drums, weeping guitar with a bell chime in the background. It is very gentle and in the first three and a half minutes if you think it is an instrumental, but dirty growls might surprise you. In the end gentle guitar just puts the whole atmosphere to a higher level.

    “Clandestine Symbols” again starts with a long interlude but this time vocals are a bit calmer than in the previous song which adjusts dynamic. The vocals here maybe the best than in any other song emphasizes despair. 

    Bell chime, where else we are if not in the church? This is my favorite piece from this EP because it seems it is more melodic than others, “The Cinder Altars” deliver the deepest growl you will hear on this album. 

    I have zero complaints pointing to the music, but the art cover, booklet… I just wish I could read the lyrics because the way I got the promo material is quite impossible. Blurred, doubled brown letters on black background are just simply hard to read.

    Overall, this album is recommended to all of you who enjoy an extremely slow tempo, sleepy atmosphere but still dramatic enough that leads to the world of emptiness and despair. Still, I can not get rid of the feeling that I like “Iconoclast” more.

  • Review: Erupted Evil – Teufel

    Review: Erupted Evil – Teufel

    Label: Fallen Temple

    Date: July 6th, 2021

    Darkness was always in association to extreme metal genres. Brutality of its lyrics and deep notes that simply push us to deepest and the most hidden parts of our minds. Morbidity and darkness is not for everyone but it reveals a lot to us alone.

    Here, with the new EP of Erupted Evil, I discovered one darker world. A horror show with a story. As part of the song “Zombie Apocalypse” said: “When there is no room in hell, dead walk the Earth“. So I think all four songs are written in hell itself and sent to Earth in these plagued times to show us an even bigger dark.

    By “Frozen Ocean” doors of hell are just opened and an eruption of doom / death metal starts to shred everything around. Going further, of course, by the song “Skin to Skin”, blasts of drums made my day. I can’t imagine how this would sound live but the definition of a good song in this genre is to make it even scarier at the end, with a piano fade out.

    The last one is my favorite with a dialog from the movie “Dawn of the Dead”. An often forgotten masterpiece and a cover of the song “Zombie Apocalypse” by band Mortician. In some parts it sounded exactly the same and I am delighted to hear that.

    One and only thing I didn’t like in this EP are the vocals I can’t understand, not even a single word. Like in everything bad there is something good, this deep growl just gave a remark to every song and without it nothing would be the same.

    Polish brothers did a really good job here and I hope to hear a full length soon.

     

  • Review: Hegemoon / Wartödd – W majestacie bluźnierstwa

    Review: Hegemoon / Wartödd – W majestacie bluźnierstwa

    Label: Fallen Temple

    Date: June 12th, 2021

    Who knows when I would think about Hegemoon again if it wasn’t for this latest Fallen Temple promo package, which included, among others, the brand new split release of this Polish band. I’ve gotten into them through their debut album. Back then we were basically label mates since Moon Records published “Tron zła” a couple of years before my own band got signed. Still, I got my hands on a copy of the tape and it was overwhelming. Black metal was thundering through the Polish underworld back then and, as far as I am concerned, Hegemoon was real high in the country’s hierarchy. Creatively speaking, of course.

    I’ve gotten my hands on a couple more releases in the following years, including the follow-up to “Tron zła”, but the band sort-of slipped through my fingers for a long while. Still, I’m glad they’re active and super happy to have the new split release in my hands. What makes me even happier is that Hegemoon has stayed firm on their path, even if it means that their music remains somewhat stagnant in that mentioned creative sense.

    The trio still performs black metal in the second wave manner, strongly influenced by the Scandinavian legacy. As they did a decade ago, their music is dominated by the lead guitar (think Emperor or Satyricon) which carries most of their creative bravado. They are not reinventing any wheels out here. But in that following of the unwritten rules they do manage to offer interesting passages and thus keep the momentum on their side. Basically, if you’re a black metal fan, there’s little to complain about. Hegemoon’s side of “W majestacie bluźnierstwa” is a classic monument to the 1990’s, only without pushing what’s been heard countless times before. Three songs, plus an introduction, of well crafted, neatly executed and Polish sung black metal.

    Oh, and the production is quite good as well. To a point where you can clearly hear a fine bass line doing what it does best.

    On the flipside (it’s actually a CD so there’s no flipside but I love the term) comes a new and previously unknown name for me. Wartödd is also a Polish trio, but they have emerged from Polish hell just last year. However, they’ve been quite active in the studio, presumably because there’s nothing better to do while the pandemic still wreaks havoc. Two demo takes, a full length album and this split release have already been published. Judging from previous experience with overactive bands, it is highly likely that Wartödd’s discography does not end there and a new outing is just around the corner.

    Then again, this is not a one-man band. Unfortunately, this is also not as good of a band as their split mates. The genre is the same, there was never any doubt. The inspiration comes from the same peninsula, again a no brainer. But my fears about hyper productive bands came true once again. There’s simply not enough quality in these three tracks to make… Well, three interesting tracks. Though Wartödd makes an effort to mix things up a bit, with melancholic segments, cosmic ambient interludes and some lead guitars, it simply does not quite cut it.

    Now, don’t get me wrong, there are ideas to be found here. And good ones, at that. But there are just too many fragments which just seem uninventive, or as if appearing to fill up the space. Minimalism has been played to infinity in black metal and there’s simply nothing new to be done here. It would seem like Wartödd just needed more time to develop these songs and make even these moments better. The way it turned out, it sounds as if they are just a rawer version of Hegemoon. Take your time guys. There’s no need for another Nunslaughter, Agathocles or Sabbat.

    Anyway, the forever sidelined Polish black metal scene proves that it is often neglected without a good reason. Meanwhile, the underground flourishes and turns up with ever new records worthy of attention. This split is definitely one of them. All of its faults included. Get it if thy heart pumps black blood. Hell, go get yourself a handful, since Fallen Temple has a whole lot more to offer as well.

     

  • Review: Apostasy – Death Return

    Review: Apostasy – Death Return

    Label: Fallen Temple

    Date: May 14th, 2021

    It took me a while to figure out just which Apostasy this is. As it turns out, this is one of the first, brought to life three decades ago in Chile. However, two of these decades were spent in hibernation, so talk of much activity is out of the question here. Still, as I can see, there is some fine reputation behind the name.

    Talk about old school as a prefix to the genre is unnecessary on this occasion. It is quite natural for a band whose inception dates back to the end of the 1980’s. Especially down in South America. Naming a genre to stand after the old school denominator is also not a difficult task. Once again, if you have any knowledge of the early Chilean (or South American in general) scene.

    Apostasy bears the torch of primal death thrashing metal. With a note that they take influences from all over the place. South or North America, or even Europe. There’s also a layer of black metal hidden within (not to mention the “doomy” elements in the closing track), so extreme metal can be a good explanation for “Death Return”.

    Now, don’t be intimidated if you are not too big of a fan of filthy metal usually coming from South America. Apostasy steers clear of such. At least on this release. I’m not familiar with their previous work, but this one is far above these connotations. Mostly because of the pretty clean production work. I would even go as far as saying they’ve overdone it a bit. It’s just a bit under the modern German thrash metal, crystal clear productions. Sounds to me as if “Death Return” could’ve used a bit of dirt.

    But never mind that. It’s the music that counts the most. In that regard, the Chileans are far more technically evolved than most of their countrymen. Call it years of experience and natural progress, or just well-thought through creation, but “Death Return” remains a neatly crafted record that keeps to the brutal side of music, while not straying into mindless cruelty to the instruments.

    Don’t get me wrong, Apostasy is nowhere near any of those “million riffs per minute” type of bands. As a matter of fact, their riffing is just not driven by sheer savagery. Guitar work is creative enough to not be boring or following the expected patterns. Apostasy is not original by any means, but they are most certainly not a useless clone either. You did not hear these parts or arrangement solutions many times before.

    The question remains if “Death Return” has what it takes to make a deeper impact on the scene. It definitely has a strong label to support it, but I get the feeling that the music itself is just not catchy enough. Sure, it is good enough for a strong headbanging session. The old school ears will bleed, no issue with that. However, I cannot quite put my life on the line that this record will be the one I will return to. It has given me a couple of very pleasant hours while listening and examining it, but I’m afraid it is doomed to be “shelved”.

    But who knows. Perhaps there are old school maniacs out there who will praise it to high heavens. Well, not high heavens, but you know what I mean. Try it and make up your own mind.