Temple Of Baal - Verses Of Fire

Published November 22 2013

*=Staff's pick	t? ast??? 418 Bloodangel Arcana Silentium The 10th Aethyr Gates Of Death Gnosis Of Fire* Golden Wings Of Azazel* Lord Of The Raging Seas Serpens Luminis Walls Of Fire*

Genre	Black/Death Metal	Amduscias	Vocals
Tracks	10	Amduscias	Guitar
Running time	62 Min.	-	Guitar
Label	Agonia Records	Arkdaemon	Bass
Release	29 October 2013	Skvm	Drums
Country	France	-	Keyboard
Producer	---
Similar artists	Svartsyn, Demonical, Marduk

Imagine a bunch of prolific death and black metal bands meeting for a moonlit nocturnal feast in worship of the dark arts. Imagine the feast going particularly wild and amidst a child is conceived. Imagine that child growing up not knowing who its parents are, but having a reasonable number of suspects. Then imagine the bastard child trying to please them all by carrying on all their works mixed together. Can you imagine it? Good on you, then you will have a slight grasp of what 'Verses of Fire' is about.

The influences are really all over the place on this one. Listening through the album I find myself noting distinct similarities to Svartsyn, Naglfar, Deathspell Omega, Suffocation, Marduk, Autopsy, Amon Amarth, Demonical, Morbid Angel and Slayer. Some of these influences pass only for brief passages but the obvious similarities yet makes them very noticeable. Temple of Baal's fusion of death and black metal with their fairly technical hooks and twists makes Svartsyn's sound the most notable of the acts mentioned, particularly in the more black-infused passages with its variation between blasting up-tempo and atmospheric mid-tempo sections.

In the more death-infused up-tempo parts of 'Verses of Fire' old-school revivalists like Demonical and partly Autopsy springs to mind. In these parts the melodic choruses are notable and sometimes reach Amon Amarth-epic proportions, for instance in 'Gates of Death'. Between this, there are parts resembling more technical NY death metal as in '?? ast??? 418', Marduk-styled blasts on 'Bloodangel' and some atonal riffs worthy of Deathspell Omega. Throughout the album the drums follow the guitar work with accuracy and moves well between the styles of death and black.

The vocals of Amduscias operates in a slightly growling black metal fashion sometimes moving out of that zone in chanting spoken words and a full on Tom Araya-scream in 'Golden Wings of Azazel'. The vocals work well and the band knows how to handle their instruments. This surely is no inexperienced garage-band at work. They have studied their influences well and pay a fair tribute to their legacy. In theory this ought to work out as a good effort, the problem is it does not.

I generally like bands fusing the styles of other acts, creating their own sound in the end. The problem with 'Verses of Fire' is the lack of the latter. The influences never really merge and the album becomes more of an all-star jam lacking an identity of its own. Some of the melodies are catchy and enjoyable, but that is about it. It is clear Temple of Baal tried to create something atmospheric on this piece, particularly in the mid-tempo parts, but the lack of continuity prevents a solid atmosphere to ever emerge.

Some attempts are fair, but these tend to be overtly repeated. When the same trick is executed in not so fortunate passages it becomes outright annoying. This is somewhat enigmatic since the band knows how to build proper song structures but really only succeeds in producing a few decent tunes on 'Verses of Fire'. In theory I should enjoy this, but I find myself unable to do so. The lack of coherency and identity makes this an uninspiring 60 minute ride.

The production is truly symptomatic of 'Verses of Fire'. It is well executed balancing the instruments and vocals exemplary, yet there is nothing that breaks out taking the listener to another level. It continues being awesome in theory throughout the entire album but utter fails to enhance the listening experience. 'Verses of Fire' truly puzzles me, unfortunately not in an album-of-the-year sense, but rather in a why-is-that-drunk-taking-a-piss-in-an-empty-beer-can-and-then-mistaking-it-for-the-one-he-just-cracked fashion.

Performance	Originality	Production	Vocals	Songwriting
7	5	6	7	4

Summary
4,5 chalices of 10 - Tengan