Saturnalia Temple
To The Other
(Listenable Records)
Bathed in the occult teachings of The Order of the Dragon Rouge, this fuzzy mix of death, doom and stoner metal definitely manages to make a thunder, but it even offers up a little bit of blues and psychedelics also. Though the lyrics revolve around high magick, witchcraft and other occult semblances (and I’m not talking about as an image, these guys are the real deal) this record actually comes off as a blast to jam and I think you’ll agree. What makes the experience memorable for me are its leads, which stick heavily to blues and trippy seventies’ psychedelics which really seem to go well with the dirges of static and the whole transcendental vibe of the piece. It definitely thumps along regardless, providing a meaty muscle of doom that backs the distorted harsh vocal efforts perfectly. It almost takes me away to an alien world, where my vision becomes distorted and my audial perception becomes positively nullified. It’s got a sort of bizarre hypnotic sense to it, even though it’s still a little rough around the edges in some areas. But to be honest, there’s really not much to this formula that truly needs to be expanded upon and I’m sure there are those of you who might consider the work of Acid Witch to be a bit better. What I’d truly love to hear from these guys is something that really comes off altogether different and seems befitting of the ritual experimentation that this record seems to want to express so heavily. It’s much better than their first offering Aion Of Drakon, but it still leaves much to be desired. At least there are some promising cuts to be found here, which prove to me that there’s definitely something worthwhile brewing here. It’s no Therion, but if you like doomy psychedelic stuff I’m sure you’ll find something to like here. It’s definitely worth giving a listen at least. (Eric May)
