TEMPLE OF BAAL – Mysterium

Temple of Baal – Mysterium (2015, Agonia Records)

Coming out of France, the blackened death metal act of Temple of Baal has been active since 1998. We often hear the mix of the genres that are black and death metal, done so many times, and almost as a single formula. With that in mind, I entered into this album with no real expectations. Added to that, I am more a black metal fan than a fan of death metal, so I can be very critical when it comes to those genres. Especially when mixed together.

Mysterium by Temple of Baal is the perfect example of the mastery of this blend and an evolution while keeping a feet into their influences. One of the most notable is the A Blaze in the Northern Sky intro that any fan of DarkThrone will scan right away. Every part of Mysterium is well balanced, the riffs are aggressive and have a power that keeps you coming back for more. The drumming is perfect and without being too much on one side more than the other I cannot praise enough the rhythmic section for this.

Even with these long songs, Temple of Baal is not repeating itself in the album despite a nice homogeneous composition of songs and a really high standard of recording. It is worth mentioning again that black metal doesn’t need to sound crappy to be good, it’s more of a balance of analog and live feeling more than a clear sound of studio mixing and computer controlled sounds. Sometimes, the same album would have been recorded differently and it would have been so much better or worst.

Finally, Temple of Baal might be one of the best surprises this year. It is almost on repeat in my ears since its release on the 2^nd day of october. This last thing can possibly prove that it is a release that will be worth your time and money.

8.3