Release Date: September 27th 2024. Record Label: Self Released. Formats: CD/DD
The Pale Temple And Others - Track Listing:
1.The Pale Temple
2.The Mountainside
3.The Weeping Court
4.The Starless Sea
Line-up:
Brendan - Vocals/Guitar
Mark - Vocals/Guitar
Nader - Bass
Ryan - Drums/Lyrics
Review
It feels just like yesterday when I reviewed Progressive Doom/Stoner Metallers Dead Sacraments debut album Celestial Throne and not over five years when it was originally released back in May 2019. The record was a deeply haunting experience with the band touching upon moments of real emotional intensity. The band have returned with their new album The Pale Temple And Others which outclasses its predecessor in every single way possible.
The music is very foreboding with its deep rooted Progressive Doom metal style that has a dark LOVECRAFTIAN world the debut album originally created though this time round the music is heavier, tighter and denser with Dead Sacraments offering a heavier Post-Metal style to the album which had echoes of YOB and PALLBEARER along the way.
The vocals are very operatic in places with a true DOOM METAL feeling that almost pushes into the area of Funeral Doom. There’s some vocal chanting along the way which propels the story quite naturally to the record’s next stage of musical evolution. The album is quite expansive and forward thinking with all the tracks running near or past eleven minutes in length.
The Pale Temple sets up the scene with outlandish vocals, soaring instrumental sounds which offer a fine balance of down-tuned aggression and MELODIC DOOM which brings an atmospheric style of musical harmony on the later stages of the track. The song offers moments of AHAB aquatic based DOOM and HEAVY METAL with distorted sounds becoming quite Drone focused before the song closes out naturally.
Second track The Mountainside continues with that heavy and slightly FUZZ driven apocalyptic sound which allows the sludgier attitude to form. The music always moves at a confident slow-to-mid pace which matches the subtleties of Brendan’s and Mark’s vocals which are both vying for complete dominance that is quite a glorious experience to hear.
The later stages of the album offers a subtle switch to Droned Out Doom where the music is spliced with aquatic sounds and amplifier reverb that becomes way heavier and slightly freakier with grizzled down-tuned guitars and soaring rhythm section that creates an intense Ambient energy especially within the third track The Weeping Court which is the standout track on record. The music changes into a classic style of Progressive Metal with echoes of Mastodon and Neurosis overlapping with each other that offers the best instrumental sounds of the whole album.
The final track The Starless Sea ends the album by exploring a more dominant and aggressive faster style of music with Dead Sacraments expertly tying up every loose end up of the whole story which still offers moments of real human emotion coming through the lyrics and sublime vocals yet again.
The Pale Temple And Others is one of the best LOVECRAFTIAN inspired albums I’ve heard in recent years and this allows Dead Sacraments to release a stunning and intense emotionally charged journey of Progressive Doom/Stoner Metal that is miles ahead of the competition.
Words by Steve Howe
Thanks to Dead Sacraments for the promo.
The Pale Temple And Others will be available to buy on CD/DD Friday 20th September 2024.
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