ALBUM REVIEW: World Sacrifice – Temple of Dread
Germany’s TEMPLE OF DREAD are arguably one of the most promising death metal acts to come out of the country in the last few years. Comprised of several prolific underground musicians, the bands 2019 debut album, Blood Craving Manctras, proved to be a dark and aggressive take on a classic death metal sound, establishing the band as a force to be reckoned with right off the bat. Not ones to rest on their laurels, the band’s second album, World Sacrifice, comes less than a year after their debut, and sees the band further build upon their sound, making for one of the more impressive death metal albums of the year.
World Sacrifice goes straight for the jugular, with crushing, ferocious guitars, cacophonous drumming and feral vocals building a huge, rhythmic wall of noise, pierced by great, chunky leads that add intensity to this already monstrous, groove-laden offering, grabbing the listeners attention with a captivating opening gambit. Commands From a Black Soul maintains the authoritative sound of the previous track, with a reduced pace and far slicker hooks giving this a focused, but nonetheless effective, feel. The bestial vocals only add to the music, injecting a rabid edge to the proceedings that works extremely well.
Enforcers of the Vile, like the two first songs, blends a classic death metal approach to songwriting with a fresh production, with buzz-saw riffs and energetic drumming crafting a caustic backdrop for the snarling gutturals. The whole song has an excellent swagger to it, giving the music a confident, lively sound, marking it out as one the albums early high points. Symbiotic Delusion, with its eerie, disjointed melodies and more melancholic approach, is an emotive and engrossing piece of music, coupling tight, adventurous guitars with beguiling atmosphere, which results in an incredibly powerful song. Machine, a brief burst of brutality centred upon blistering, chaotic musicianship on all fronts and demented roars, which, despite being the albums shortest affair, leaves a definite mark.
Alive I Rot sees the music return to a monolithic, rhythmic style of death metal. This band seems to be in their element when the leads are a little subdued, with the muscular nature of the rhythms, notably the bass, drums and secondary guitars, coming to the fore. This is a magnificent affair that works perfectly at this point. Dedication draws upon the same formula, but, in spite of being a great slab of meaty death metal, doesn’t pack the same punch as Alive I Rot, although it does have solid, rumbling guitar hooks that are impressive. A cover of MORGOTH‘s Sold Baptism doesn’t so much re-imagine as reinvigorate this tracks sound. This rendition remains faithful to the original, with even the vocals possessing the wild, bellicose tinge of Marc Grewe‘s vocal register, but the modern, polished sound of this record makes this already massive track sound positively gargantuan. Blood Craving Mantra, with its sonorous, chanted vocals and slow, bleak guitar lines, departs significantly from the established sound of the band, although it still has a foot firmly planted within old school death metal, albeit with a generous helping of doom. As the song progresses, the music gathers momentum, with the leads especially taking on a fantastic, jarring edge that sound amazing, making for a slow burning, climactic conclusion to the album.
It’s often very hard to take an old school approach to death metal and make it work with a modern production. This is one of those occasions where the bridging of the gap between a classic style and a slicker sound actually works extremely well. The music itself is utterly fantastic, with even the weaker songs on here being absolute juggernauts that command your attention, and the huge, almost bombastic sound makes everything sound even more monstrous and meaty than it already is. Considering that this is only TEMPLE OF DREAD‘s second album, and they’ve been able to produce it so quickly after their first, it’s safe to say that the band could very well go on to be one of Germany’s, and indeed the world’s, top death metal acts in the next few years if they keep this up.
Rating: 9/10
World Sacrifice is out now via Testimony Records.
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