ALBUM REVIEW: Onslaught Of The Ancient Gods – Temple Of Demigod

One of the hardest working men in metal you’ve never heard of, Mark Erskine, is back. The Armenian cultist, who is the pen behind graphic design company Erskine Designs, the multi-instrumentalist behind GHOULCHAPEL and the guitarist in pagan black metal outfit ILDARUNI, has returned with a brand new album from his long-running blackened death metal solo project, TEMPLE OF DEMIGOD. The second full-length album in this project, Onslaught Of The Ancient Gods follows the underground favourite The Great Old Ones – but does the newest record recapture the cosmic magic of the debut album, or has Erskine stretched himself too thin this time around?

TEMPLE OF DEMIGOD waste no time in throwing down the gauntlet with opening track Him Who Is Not To Be Named. Immediately, Erskine showcases an immersion into the Lovecraftian themes that permeate through his music using spacey synths to create a sense of cosmic dread. Seamlessly, Him Who Is Not To Be Named transitions from a more crushing style of death metal to a rawer, purer blackened sound, throwing in hints of tech-death towards the song’s close. Lead single, Keeper Of The Arcane Lore, doubles down on the Lovecraftian atmosphere with the orchestration taking a more prominent role, and the tech elements are ramped up considerably.

Acolyte Of An Ancient Cult proves to be a highlight from the record, keeping the sinister atmosphere and blackened ferocity rolling ever onward amid some of the biggest hooks and strongest riffs from Onslaught Of The Ancient Gods. Cataclysmic March is built on this disgustingly catchy little rising riff that is impossible to forget, while Destroyer Of Aeon and He Who Lies Eternally see TEMPLE OF DEMIGOD move back into the tech-death territory, with the latter proving to be another album highlight. Single track Amorphous (premiered by Distorted Sound Magazine here!) offers up a shorter, more to-the-point dose of lofty aggression, blistering through its three-minute run time with plenty of techy dissonance and no reprieve.

Into the final third of Onslaught Of The Ancient Gods, TEMPLE OF DEMIGOD bring a stomping, slower groove to the arsenal with Becoming – though Erskine ramps up the speed when necessary. Black Rivers Of Yuggoth is a clear contender for the strongest song on the record, masterfully projecting the haunting, unsettled nature of Lovecraftian horror amid the top-tier blackened death assault. Rammed with hooks, visceral brutality and a closing section that feels like the descent into the void, Black Rivers Of Yuggoth stands as one of the most memorable moments on Onslaught Of The Ancient Gods. Final song proper and the record’s penultimate offering, The Outsider is as grandiose and brutal as the listener should expect from TEMPLE OF DEMIGOD by this point, leading wonderfully into theremin-sounding outro song Neverending Dreams.

There is a lot going on throughout Onslaught Of The Ancient Gods, and at time, it feels like Erskine is trying to do too much at once. Combining blackened death metal with elements of melo-death, tech-death, FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE-esque orchestration and sci-fi synths, the newest album from TEMPLE OF DEMIGOD certainly stands apart form much of the extreme metal scene. Though the myriad of influences get a little confused at times, for the most part Erskine pulls everything together expertly. Lovecraft is no rarity in extreme metal lyrics, but where many simply pay lip service to the father of cosmic horror, TEMPLE OF DEMIGOD is a project fully immersed in the Eldritch chaos. Not a flawless album, but to suggest Onslaught Of The Ancient Gods is anything other than a blindingly fun trip into the void would be criminal.

Rating: 8/10

Onslaught Of The Ancient Gods out now via SoundAge Productions. 

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