I suppose I could write something like; on a hazy moonlit
night a dark temple slowly emerged out of the depths of the Australian terrain
and beamed its ethereal melodies like a prism to all corners of the universe
for all to hear. The truth of the matter
is, a couple of guys from Melbourne, one in particular named Ryan Brown on a
mission to start a stoner rock band, came together to jam and within one year had recorded an
incredibly decent Sci-Fi Stoner album under the name Dark Temple.
Self-titled and released on bandcamp July 22nd,
Dark Temple have laced our atmosphere with their very special blend of 70’s
style progressive rock, old school synthesizers all with that stoner rock vibe
that I know you love. It’s spacey without being overdone, mildly apocalyptic,
and more importantly full of riffs that send your brainwaves to thoughts of
classic Australian rock traditions and how all these things have come together
so smoothly and seamlessly. With just
five tracks, Dark
Temple made a fan girl
out of me.
‘Gods of the Sky’ is the opener and quickly builds into a
good feeling with its marching beat and fat fuzzy bass lines that dominate the
track more than actual riffs. Brown’s
vocals are friendly and easy to listen to as he introduces the interstellar
beings that have landed to reign over us.
The strong, but not over powering, synthesizers are one of the biggest
elements in the song and carry the track wonderfully. One of my favorites is ‘No Return’, a groove
heavy multi-component jam that forces you to come to the realization that Dark Temple
know what they’re doing. The first half
of the song is catchy with easy to follows lyrics. Then it changes into a smoky
break down of slow crushing synths with vaporizing riffs and picks itself up
and continues marching towards its relentless mission.
‘False Prophets’ is the main jam on the record, the mission
itself. It’s the mothership, airborne
and radiating high levels of space rock offering spiritual and musical refuge
from our self-inflicted doom. With a
pleasantly pulsating rhythm it hovers and takes over like an anthem. It finishes grounded, like the occupants have
traded in their cosmic gear for motorbikes and are now heading down the highway
on a Space Truckin’ enterprise. Next is
‘Hell’s Closing In’, your favorite thanks to the no-bull-shitting-around riffs that immediately want me to crack a
beer and lovingly remind myself that Bon Scott’s spirit is still with us
all. It’s the stoner rock cut on the
record and is a fantastic demonstration of what Dark Temple
can offer us now and in the future.
Finally we have ‘Black Planet’, initially a dense organ
heavy finale that quickly retracts the record back to where it came from; a
spectacularly churning black hole of sparkling synthesizers, percussion and
riffs. Dark Temple
clearly have a great time in the studio and bring the goods in peace. I reached out to Brown who told me in the not
too distant future a new EP will be recorded, meanwhile the boys will be going
interstate with shows and I’m more than happy to follow their moves on
Facebook.
Dark
Temple’s debut is a 32
minute ride to the stars and back. Were
it an actual strain it’d be a euphoric sativa stimulating your imagination and
have you wiggling with groove. Buy it on
bandcamp.
-Miss Melissa
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