TEMPLE OF DECAY – Rigor Mortis

Masterminded by the skilled multi-instrumentalist Mortt, the tempestuous atmospheres conjured up by his excellent musical creation known as Temple of Decay is one of the better and more memorable additions to the black/death metal scene these past few years. As evidenced by the quality of this sharp and vicious half-hour slab of brutal yet melodically strong metal, the aforementioned Mortt knows a thing or two about merging merciless riffs and relentless aggression with a sense of misanthropic majesty to brilliant effect. These seven expertly written compositions encompass everything that makes this particular combination of epic black metal and raging death metal awesome, which is merely another way of saying that things are kept interesting throughout by means of sharp twists and turns that result in some wicked surprises but without ever compromising with respect to its inherently catchy and memorable qualities. The songs are accessible and quite easy to fall in love with the first couple of times you spin the disc, but the more you immerse yourself and listen to it the more nuances and layers you will discover. The vocals are an utmost sinister delight and add an enormous amount of intensity and anger to some already crushing tunes, and my only complaint is that the cover rendition of Venom’s immortal “Leave Me in Hell” fails to act as a fitting climactic ending to this superb release. Highly recommended darkness that I could easily see appeal to fans of everything from Temple of Baal and Vorkreist to Marduk and perhaps even some of Behemoth’s offerings from the late 90s/early 2000s too.