antiMusic.com: Temple of Dagon - Revelations of the Spirit Review

Temple of Dagon - Revelations of the Spirit

by Matt Hensch

.
It would make sense for Lovecraftian horrors to first invade California when the thin membrane of reality collapses and gives way to eternal suffering and enslavement at the hands of the Great Old Ones. Although mercy isn't on their agenda, they might have to hold off annihilating North Hollywood's Temple of Dagon for performing the foul sacraments of summoning before the appointed time. Crust-stuffed carnage fills the twenty-minute void of this in-and-out EP cooked up in a riff-heavy mix of crust and thrash/death metal circling around Lovecraftian lore on the lyrical spectrum. "Revelations of the Spirit" shows Temple of Dagon knows a thing or two about calamity, and isn't too shabby of a release.

A synthesis of crust and thrash/death metal shouldn't make the average imagination run wild. Temple of Dagon makes no attempt to pretend there's a bigger meaning behind the unholy potency of these mighty riffs, which are plentiful and ravenous. The scheme of "Revelations of the Spirit" is set in stone once the straightforward, chopping riffs of "The Evocation" and "The Horrid King" open gateways to the crusty goodness of Temple of Dagon's ritualistic slaughter. "The Wandering Spirit" has stellar thrash/death metal elements bulging out of the crust ideology leading the guitar work; the musical brew is poised perfectly. The consistency Temple of Dagon brings to the table makes all four songs worthwhile, though I find "The Wandering Spirit" the zenith.

Just one complaint: the vocals are suitable for this kind of thing, but I can't help but think the constant grunting is too pedestrian to appease Nyarlathotep's avatar of choice. They seem more like a mandatory addition than a vital part of the band's ceremonial behavior, but "Revelations of the Spirit" walks away with a recommendation; its riffs are prime and its squalid production sickeningly fun. The Yith won't be blown away by the band's creative ability, but they should find their head-like appendages banging regardless.

Temple of Dagon - Revelations of the Spirit
Rating: