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Temple Of
Baal was formed as a one man band by a man going under the alias Amduscias in
1998 but eventually he was joined by three musicians from leading French metal
bands. They were MkM from AntaeuS, Arkdaemonn from Deviant and the former
Penumbra drummer Herr Rikk. MkM did however leave the band after a few
rehearsals and they now act as a three-piece. Yet another juvenile
pseudo-satanic band was my first thought when hearing about the project and I
have not really changed my opinion on this aspect. Their lyrics and conceptual
approach are as silly as most other black metal bands but aren't the blessing
of the liberating forces of death and dedication to the horned one what black
metal is all about? Well, no, there is also the music to be considered and
that is all I care about these days if there isn't much else of interest.
"Servants Of The Beast" is the debut album from this French act and even
though France is not generally credited by critics for their black metal scene
the way Norway is there are certainly some good bands coming out of this
country. Temple Of Baal is one of them and they owe very much of their sound
to the early Norwegian black metal scene. This is cold, harsh and old-school.
The production is raw and unpolished and they actually succeed in creating
that mysterious and creepy atmosphere that Darkthrone were the pioneers of.
There is nothing exceptional or groundbreaking with this release but it is a
good quality album that I recommend to fans of bands like older Darkthrone,
Krieg, Judas Iscariot and Graveland. The best tracks are in the beginning of
the album but it gets a little boring towards the end though. For those who
are interested their demo "Black Unholy Presence" from the year 2000 will
also be re-released on cd with bonus tracks through Oaken Shield. Stand-out
tracks: "Backstab", "Triumphing
Blasphemy".
| Tracklist |
1. Backstab |
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2. Triumphing Blasphemy 3. Towards Eternal Death 4. Years Of |
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Hatred 5. Deathblessed (At The Hornlike Spears) 6. Slaves To The |
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Beast 7. Ruins... |
: 31.13
| Buy other Temple Of Baal albums |
