Well, this is very different to my expectations. As long time readers will know, the Editor of this august publication lets humble reviewers, such as yours truly, select their preferred albums from brief descriptions which are delivered by virtue of his homing-ravens. Temple of Gnosis were described as “Occult death doom metal”, and so, I thought “Yes: for this suits my tastes in all things slow and weird, I shall request it.” Long story short, this is an album that is slow. It is also weird.
That obviously isn’t the only thing to say. Temple of Gnosis are a Serbian band, with this their second release, after an EP released last year. The album cover hints at all sorts of alchemical, occult strangenesses, which is a case of advertising doing its job correctly, because this is a very odd, unique kind of release. I guess to the first matter – is this a death doom album? Well, maybe – it’s certainly very dark in atmosphere, with the guitar tone reminding me of underground heroes Runemagick, (though the playing is much slower), but there is a large concentration here on focussing on the atmosphere and esoteric nature of the music. This may not sound like the most flattering of comparisons, but a ball park analogy of the sounds unleashed through your lug holes when playing play would be akin to listening to Samael’s classic “Passage” album at 33 1/3 rpm while pouring gin into you through an intravenous drip.
These tracks are weighty in every sense of the word: all but the introductory track weigh in at well over the six minutes mark, crashing with the mass of lead, yet aptly through the alchemical process sounding like gold. The vocals are deep, I suspect pitch-shifted, and sound as if they are coming directly from the other side, being a broadly indecipherable croaking menace. The cavernous after effects only serve to reinforce the mysterious atmosphere, and when combined with the keyboards – which are high up in the mix, and full of the synthetic choral sounds most often associated with 90’s metal – give off a palpable fantasy vibe. Luckily, the combined effect, particularly with the crushingly slow guitar riffs, is rather more Lovecraftian than Whovian, though there are a couple of synth touches here and there that are a little Peter Davison -era Who. These, however, are not simple verse-chorus-verse-chorus songs, being sprawling, obtuse hymns that wax and wane hypnotically. Structurally, these are tracks that are more than the sum of their parts. They’re certainly a long way from rock-inspired metal, having more in common with Freemasonry than Freebird. As a listening experience, it’s a weird mix of classic Tangerine Dream (circa: The Keep) and turn of the 90’s doom metal, but none the worse for it. I can even cope with the drum machine. Mostly.
This is a hugely ambitious album, which by and large lives up to the promise it sets up. Through a decent pair of headphones, some of the effects sound a bit – well – Poundworld, to be honest, and it would be interesting to know what The Temple of Gnosis could do with a decent budget behind them, but there is little doubt that there really isn’t much out there at the moment that is as distinctive or innovative as this release. Alchemical? I’d say so. Gold! Always believe in your soul. You’ve got the power to know.
(7.5/10 Chris Davison)
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