Philly’s HEAVY TEMPLE are listed as “heavy psychedelic doom” and there is truth in that. But on Garden Of Heathens, it’s also true to say that they are an ass-kicking heavy metal band. This record has the ability to reach beyond its simple description and venture into other realms of heaviness.
This is a revelation all the way around. Opening salvo ‘Extreme Indifference To Life’ is thick and sludgy doom all around, kind of like WINDHAND but not quite as fuzzed out. That even extends to the mournful vocals of High Priestess Nighthawk. But she’s no mere Dorthea Cottrell knockoff, and she shows a great range across Garden Of Heathens, with the vocal highlight being the almost operatic ‘House Of Warship’. From the name of that song and also ‘Snake Oil (And Other Remedies)’, you can gather that HEAVY TEMPLE has a rather droll sense of humor, which is not something usually found on doomy albums.
These guys really know how to jam. On the longer tracks ‘Divine Indiscretion’ and the aforementioned ‘Snake Oil (And Other Remedies)’, guitarist Lord Paisley cuts loose with acid-drenched shredding from the harder end of the psych spectrum. These tracks build from moody beginnings into action-packed bursts of guitar. Even the mellow instrumental ‘In The Garden Of Heathens’ is cool and mysterious with deep tones and folky acoustics, but it leads into the angular, progressive jam of ‘Jesus Wept’, which brings traces of MASTODON and BARONESS into things. To show that they are not just locked into doom and stoner rock, the album concludes with the furious near-thrash of ‘Psychomanteum’, which just plain kicks ass.
Variety is the spice of an album reviewer’s life and you get it in Garden Of Heathens. Whether you’re into WINDHAND, HIGH ON FIRE, BARONESS, MONSTER MAGNET or pure heavy metal thunder, you should find something to like from HEAVY TEMPLE.
Review By: Dr. Abner Mality
HEAVY TEMPLE
Garden Of Heathens
Magnetic Eye Records