Heavy Temple - Garden of Heathens

There is heavy.  And there is Heavy Temple.  Of course, what makes a band heavy is very subjective.  With that being said, it is hard to imagine anyone listening to this band’s second full-length album “Garden of Heathens,” and not thinking that the sounds they heard were the audio equivalent of molten lead being poured into their ears.  

The band is “just” a three piece but they bring more to the table than many bands that have double, or even triple, those numbers.  The MVP of the album is no doubt High Priestess NightHawk, who provides both bass and vocals. That’s a hell of a name to call yourself but she’s a hell of a vocalist and bassist.  Her instrumental prowess alone brings in a dimensional weight to their music that is as heavy as the gravitational pull of the sun.

I’ve always been a straight up sucker for female vocals, especially in doom.  Gender doesn’t matter but I’ll be damned if women don’t have an extra power over doom metal.  There is just something about a powerful voice over liquid molten riffs that speaks to me.  Doesn’t speak to you?  Get some hearing aids.

While definitely rooted in doom, the band incorporates traditional metal, stoner and even psychedelic elements into their varied wheelhouse. I appreciate they aren't afraid to inject some faster tempos here and there—despite popular belief, doom doesn't always have to be slow.

The production/mix is pretty even across the board; every instrument gets its time to shine and nothing tries to overpower anything else.  I don’t go every song on most album’s but this one is so good I’m going to say a little something about each one.

The album opens with “Extreme Difference To Life,” and the drums are so goddamn groovy and are in incredible surgery with the flow and feel of the song. The riffs are THICK And just as groovy; they don't miss a beat and fill up every available space.  The last couple minutes feature a blistering performance of the whole band rocking out like beasts.

“Hiraeth,” has catchy vocal lines and the bass will knock you flat on your ass.  The song builds up in a subtle way—by the end of it, the head  is bruised from all the head banging.  The last minute of the song is pretty intense, especially with the wild guitar and explosive drums.

“Divine Indiscretion,” has heavy stoner vibes and a rock n roll aesthetic.  Around the 2:32 mark, the song speeds up with crisp, tight drumming.  The psychedelic guitars form in and out of a solo with little effort right before the band turns up the doom groove to notch 11.  This mid portion is wild, dizzying, and a hell of a jam session. 

 “House Of Warship,” builds up like the slow burn dirge it is.  This song is low, slow and a constant rumble that threatens to shake itself apart.  The fuzz alone will get you.  The tempo kicks up near the end with another clever guitar solo that beats the notes into you while the drums hammer them, making sure nothing escapes.

One of my favorite songs on the album is “Snake Oil (and other remedies).”  I love the melancholic opening that is more of a long intro.  As it builds, the tension and energy continues to build up. The band loves their instrumental jam session and I do too.  The vocals kick in around the halfway point and from there the song really kicks into gear. 

The title track is more of an interlude, a clean instrumental that bridges the gap to my favorite song on the album, “Jesus Wept.”  The lead guitar is really impressive in how it drives the song forward in its own opening moments.  The vocals are expressive and soar above the notes just before the song turns up the heavy factor–insanely gut punching especially just after the halfway mark where it seems the fuzz just creeps in through the ears and takes over. 

The last song, “Psychomanteum,” is a banger of an instrumental that incorporates the essence of their sound and reminds me of some of the stuff from early material by THE SWORD but better.  

Everything about this album is basically perfect.  There are riffs for days, courtesy of the unstoppable Christian Lopez.  Add in the tight and energetic drums of Baron Lycan that are second to none and you get a great album that absolutely smokes. Doom doesn’t get much better than this.