I’m going to apologize in advance for a potential excess of enthusiasm about the new EP by Temple of Dagon that we’re about to premiere, but I can’t help myself and there’s no one here to stop me.
Revelations of the Spirit is one of the heaviest and most electrifying things I’ve heard all year. The riffs are massive. The guitar leads are infectious. The bass lines are pavement-cracking. The drum blows are spine-shaking. The vocals are raw and ravenous. The music is both savage and scintillating, fusing elements from a variety of genres, from crust/punk to thrash to concussive Bolt Thrower-style death metal. It’s a paragon of head-wrecking metal.
There’s not a weak moment on this EP, and there are a ton of strong ones. My favorite happens to be the extended breakdown that comes at the end of “The Horrid King” — every time the repeating hammer blows start, I think my goddamned head is going to come off — followed closely by the chug-fests that hit like freight trains in “The Wandering Spirit” and “Nexus of Reality”.
The band have a Lovecraftian theme behind all the slaughtering riff magic, and there is indeed a black aura of inhuman malevolence that seeps through the music, especially in the slightly off-pace opening segment of that closing track, “Nexus of Reality”. The production of the music is also spot-on for what these dudes are doing — the sound is galvanizing in its clarity, but without sacrificing the tremendously heavy and abrasive quality of the guitars and bass.
In a nutshell, this is one of my favorite releases of 2015. It puts a charge straight down my spine every time I hear it — it simply does not get old. I hope it has a similar effect on you. I mean, not that I want you to experience spinal damage. Maybe some minor skull-fracturing, but not spinal damage.
Revelations of the Spirit is being released TODAY, both digitally and on 10″ vinyl via Black Voodoo Records. For vinyl pre-orders go to THIS LOCATION. For digital orders, here’s the link:
http://templeofdagon.bandcamp.com/
Temple of Dagon have also embarked on a tour in conjunction with the release, and these are the dates announced so far — to keep up to date on the tour schedule, visit the band’s Facebook event page HERE:
6/14/2015 House Show – Oakland, CA
6/15/2015 Blackwater Bar – Portland, OR
6/16/2015 The Mix – Seattle, WA
6/18/2015 Club Scum – Denver, CO
6/19/2015 Hexagon Bar – Minneapolis, MN
6/20/2015 Warehouse Show – Madison, WI
6/21/2015 Mousetrap – Chicago, IL
6/23/2015 Spitfire – New Orleans, LA
6/25/2015 The Lost Well – Austin, TX
6/26/2015 Palo Verde Lounge – Phoenix, AZ
6/27/2015 The Music Hall @ Cruststock 2015 – Anaheim, CA
OK, enough words. Time to LISTEN:
Awesome, my favorite track is Nexus of Reality 🙂
Glad you’re digging it!
Sweet, I’m going to be in Seattle from the 14th to the 17th so I can catch the show. This is awesome.
And on the other hand I have to be out of town. Seriously pissed about that.
I feel your pain. I was out of town until the day after UFOMAMMUT and Usnea came here, so I missed that one.
Not in town for the Chicago show. Such is life.