The powerful elements of doom metal come crushing with the loud tone of the guitars, gloomy rhythm and potent drum blows. ‘Summoning the Slayer’ relies on creating a massive wall of thundering riffs. The natural cohesion of the band maintains an intense tempo, emphasizing subtle shifts in approach. Temple of Void has found unique ways to delve into the cavernous maw of brutal death metal: the oppressive opening ‘Behind the Eye’ sways back and forth like a pendulum on the tom-toms while the heavy guitar chords and the deep gutturals of Mike Erdody echo like roaring beast. Combining weighty riffs like towering monoliths propelled by occasional grooves, slow marching riffs and the gloomy dark rhythm that offers lethal insertion to your soul.

Temple of Void‘s shrewd composition makes great use of the slow lumbering tempos. Sepulchral melodies are infused in the song structure casting shades of somber rhythms. The six tracks of the album imbibe the dusty and murky aura of European death metal, while some of the riffs may have been influenced by bands like Runemagick and Paradise Lost. The song structure forms the architect of doom metal on the following track ‘Deathtouch’. The band’s previous album ‘The World That Was’ was devoid of such doomy and crushing quality. Nevertheless, Temple of Void offers mounds of heaviness. The riffing retains a superb death/ doom nature where the guitars emphasize melody and riffs are relatively molded as they sound so remarkably heavy and infectious!

‘Summoning the Slayer’ is the band’s most gloomy album. From he quality of the crushing heaviness as well as the guitar melodies to the point where the guttural growls reshape the flow of the music, Temple of Void just found the right formula to channel the hefty, gloomy riffs of doom metal. The lead and rhythm guitars have a cumulative effect on the slow tempos. Treading on vast landscapes the focused tone of the guitars and the potent drums permeates the somber dramatic tempo. ‘Engulfed’ trudges into seven minutes, even though this track echoes with the musty air of classic death/doom the aesthetic captures the classic ethos. The twin guitars lay the framework, weaving thick moldy riffs that works perfectly with the marching drums. The towering guitar work itself stands as a work of art. Therefore, Temple of Void defines its aestheticism. The fourth album elaborates on the vast details of the rhythm and textural guitars while the drums add immense power to the music.

‘A Sequence of Rot’ becomes heavier in scope with the use of the pounding drums and the powerful bass guitar throbbing along with the chugging riffs as the band descends the cavernous domains. Smelting iron slithering and forming a line into the lava pits of hell, thick guitars materialize like the Basalt Mountains whereas the ghastly emotions erupt from the depths of the abyss. ‘Hex, Curse, & Conjuration’ is another heavy and brutal sequence characterized by the explosive riffs. The guitar tone on this track rumbles along. There is an ominous sense of ghastly doom resonating from the vocals.

‘Summoning the Slayers’ offers fans a mammoth style of riffs. There is a lot of variety in terms of melody. The deep rumbles evoke a combination of mid-paced death metal songs similar to the ilk of Finnish & British type. The focused songwriting may stifle the listeners with is bleak heaviness. ‘The Transcending Horror’ opens with chugging guitars with more focus on creating a cold atrocious atmosphere. With the considerable weight of exerting a monochromatic mood despite changing the tempo, the album is a fine mixture of slower and upbeat tracks. ‘Summoning the Slayer’ is a step in the right direction and shows the raw death metal influences that come in line with the past albums like ‘Of Terror and the Supernatural’ and ‘Lords of Death’.

The eye-raising closure ‘Dissolution’ begins with acoustic strings and flutes verging at a tempo that seems so tranquil. Lush guitars and clean vocals feel like the band is drawing inspiration from the 60s & ’70s rock music that brings something evocative.

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