ALBUM REVIEW: Of Solitude Triumphant – The Temple
Hailing from the ancient and magnificent city of Thessaloniki in Greece, the mysterious monks of doom that call themselves THE TEMPLE return with their sophomore album Of Solitude Triumphant. Having built the foundations of their basilica of doom worship on their debut album, 2016’s Forevermourn, the Hellenic quartet begin to construct an elaborate and highly ornate house of solitude in which their solemn threnodies can resonate off of the finely crafted walls. Documenting the journey of a soul through the cycles of rebirth, loss, fears of mortality and ultimately ending at peace in the light, Of Solitude Triumphant is best described as an emotive and thought provoking spiritual experience.
As the heavy dark oak doors to this basilica of doom open, you’re invited into a solemn and cold house of solitude. With candles flanking the aisles, you take a seat in the pew and listen to the choirs of contemplation sing baleful melodies of haunting beauty. One of THE TEMPLE’s best qualities is their use of chanted melodies and harmonies, so it is an absolute delight to hear that they have incorporated this more into their second album. There is a triumphant and pensive majesty to Of Solitude Triumphant; it completely enraptures you and you can visualise the journey of rebirth, turmoil and eventual peace that the soul goes through.
The album contains a vast array of emotions including anguish, strife and grief leading to the eventual peace, calm and tranquillity of salvation. All of these are captured through intense atmospheric musical passages that blend the tremolo melodies of black metal, the slow yet monolithic riffs of doom, and harmonious chants that would be perfectly at home during a church service. THE TEMPLE are masters of straddling the line between ominous darkness and enigmatic enlightenment; Of Solitude Triumphant has an ambiguity that is left for the listener to decipher and interpret in their own way, which is all part of the mystique of the album.
Transcending the album is a beautifully intense gothic majesty, drawn from the realms of gothic and funeral doom. THE TEMPLE have intricately layered the vocal melodies and harmonies so that they envelop you from all sides. With waltzing rhythms like the ones found in Reborn In Virtue you feel as though as you are part of a long precession around the basilica of doom that the band have created, exploring all of its corners and crypts, all of it to gain more spiritual insight into your soul’s journey. The album takes time to establish a distinct atmosphere, slowly building throughout and each song has its own eerily exultant climax. The continually harmonised guitar melodies create a dramatic atmosphere accompanied by the emotive and haunting vocals, and Of Solitude Triumphant stands tall like the gothic medieval cathedrals that stand grim and cold across the majority of Europe.
The album opens up with Me To Lichno Tou Astrou (which translates from Greek as ‘With The Light Of The Star’) – a gracious and uplifting choral piece that begins the metaphorical soul’s journey in the light of the stars. Once this ends THE TEMPLE launch into The Foundations; a titanic sized riff with raw, soaring tremolo guitar melodies kick starts the song and then you are taken aback by the haunting beauty of the vocals. Reborn In Virtue has the catchiest and most intriguing vocal melody on the album, as it sounds as if it was based on a Greek Orthodox worship chant that brings in attention grabbing note runs that captivate you and is similar in style to that of Bartłomiej Krysiuk’s BATUSHKA and their use of Old Slavic Orthodox chants.
The grief that is contained in Profound Loss is deeply emotive and heart wrenching, as you can feel the sense of loss in the passionate vocals supplied by the enigmatic lead singer Father Alex. A White Flame For The Fear Of Death cements the album’s themes of spiritual journey, opening up with mournful chants like those which enveloped you on Reborn In Virtue and the reintroduction of the dark, tremolo guitar melodies. Premonitions Of The Final Hour is the darkest sounding track on the album, as you get a real sense of doom in your final days with it, even though there feels like there might be a slight hope of survival through the melodies, ultimately you’re doomed to die. Album closer The Lord Of Light rings in the changes with an ominous bell, and there is a sense of final ascension about the song that neatly ties up the conceptual theme of the album with some monolithic doom riffs.
THE TEMPLE have created a vivid depiction of the journey of the human soul and the spiritual processes that it has to go through to reach a form of salvation. Even if you don’t believe in that sort of thing, this is a beautifully crafted doom record that is definitely worth experiencing.
Rating: 8/10
Of Solitude Triumphant is set for release on December 9th via I Hate Records.
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