Temple ov Ahriman - Heretics of Consensual Reality

-

Temple ov Ahriman is a one-man black metal band from Austin, Texas.  Musician Thornicator (Triacanthos, ex-Brüka, ex-Vesperian Sorrow) formed the band in 2021.  After a split release in 2022, the project is now ready to unveil its full-length debut album, “Heretics of Consensual Reality,” with the help of session drummer Servitor.

“Heretics of Consensual Reality,” may have its basis in the second wave of black metal but the album has a sound all its own.  Crust/d-beat and Finnish influences mix seamlessly with the project’s brand of black metal for an album that has a fresh, exciting sound and is a lot more dynamic than I thought it would be.


The atmosphere is cold and ancient, like black metal should be, but the production has a surprisingly warm sound.  I think it works pretty well as it allows the band to show all its various moods and variety.  The album has a ton of groove and a punk rock swagger but also a vicious sense of what the essence of black metal is.  Throw in subtle use of melody, and what we have here is a black metal album that steps outside the box just enough to proclaim an identity but not so much that is weird and annoying.


The crust riffs and blackened drums combine right off the bat with the burner of an opener, “War in Heaven.”  I love the keys and melodic bass, which are in the mix well enough to hear but neither try to overtake the other instruments—very balanced production/mix on the song (and album itself) which works well for the project’s sound.  The tempo is laced in nightmarish speed in places but isn’t afraid to pull back when needed, especially when other elements are introduced such as the clean vocals around the 2:55 mark, and the accompanying melodic passage that arrives afterwards.


The d-beat flag flies high on the groovy as fuck “Infernal Imperium,” but the tone and atmosphere is all black metal.  The vocals are high pitched shrieks, but they still have an inflection that allows for actual words to be formed–impressive and it makes their performance all the more urgent and vicious.  The drums are fantastic and they change the tone of the songs with ease, steering the elements across a variety of moods and tempos. The latter half of this song is so atmospheric and catchy too.  Hell of a song!


I have to talk about the title track, too.  The fade in comes in like a wave that builds and builds before cresting on the shores, exploding into blackened fury.  Before the minute mark is even reached, this song is firing on all cylinders.  It’s violent and hectic yet atmospheric enough to feel like it's a world unto itself.  That’s what this song represents:  every song having an identity of its own but making sense for the album as a whole.  The middle passage of the song is grinding, with low, groovy riffs and even some death growls.  The sudden uptick in tempo around the 4:10 mark is deadly, proving d-beat/crust has a place besides black metal.  


The final song, “Beyond the Veils of Maya,” is one of my favorites.  It has killer lead guitar that offers the right amount of energy with melody.  The rhythm prowess of the band is in full swing, barreling ahead until the beautiful clean passage around the 2:11 mark. Layered, possessed vocals spawn in the mid-passage just before the song hits its stride with a melodic gallop.  


Temple ov Ahriman’s “Heretics of Consensual Reality,” is an album that seemingly came out of nowhere and it has really surprised me with just how good it is.  For those wanting more out of their black metal but also want that underground evil feel, this album needs to be on your radar.  


Rating: Excellent

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Hexecutioner - Tornit

-
Image
Hexecutioner is a doom/stoner/sludge metal band from Seattle that formed in 2020. Their latest release, “ Tornit ,” is their second full-length album; they have also released a demo. The band’s style is Doom with a capital DOOM. It embraces the elements of the genre without shame—and bludgeons my ear drums with them. The songs are mid-paced and built upon RIFFS, RIFFS, RIFFS, and more RIFFS. Oh and some RIFFS too.   The band’s approach is both classic and hypnotic—they take one riff, run with it, and hammer it over and over until I realized I had head banged so much I turned into a worm. But that’s just fine with me, because the next riff arrived and pulled me back together—and the process repeats. I don’t get high but if I did, I could see myself listening to this and then waking up three days later naked in the woods.   The tone and fuzz of these masterful notes, the bass included, laces their brand of doom with a filthy layer of sludge. It’s heavy as a real...
Read review

Devil Moon Risen - Fissure of Men

-
Devil Moon Risen is an Arizona based band with a very unique sound.  They formed in 2020, in the middle of the pandemic and dropped an EP.   Their brand of high energy and catchy music combines punk, desert rock, and stoner doom into a truly dynamic sound that blazes from start to finish!  Oh and they also include sludge and old school heavy metal into the mix!   “ Fissure of Men ,” is their debut full-length album…and it is a massive achievement! The band is a three piece but they sound even bigger. Chihuahua Chad (I hope that is his real name) plays bass guitar, upright bass, and vocals.  His bass is a huge component to the album, if not the main one.  He is absolutely pulsating, steering the direction of the band even while he compliments the other two member’s own styles.  His vocals are extremely varied, everything from cleans and screams.   Guitarist Rocky Destructo (awesome) has just a big of a job though as the album’s onl...
Read review

November Fire - Through A Mournful Song

-
November Fire is a doom/stoner metal band from New England that formed in 1991.  Over the years members would come and go as the band recorded demos and played gigs throughout the Boston area; the band stayed active until 2004 and, after some sporadic reunions, returned to the scene in 2022.   Flash forward to 2024 and the band drops their full-length debut “ Through A Mournful Song .” My time with this album was well spent.  I’ve no doubt this is one of the more unique metal albums I’ve heard this year.  I would say doom is their foundation but they are hard to categorize.  A lot is going on in these songs and across its forty-minute runtime, the band doesn’t shy away from exploring variety within its dynamics.    There are a lot of psychedelic tendencies across its breadth and it often times has an unhinged quality, almost supernatural in a way.  The vocals from bassist Terry go a long way adding to the band’s special atmosphere.  His...
Read review