TEMISTO
Temisto
(Pulverised Records)
38:22min

A Pulverised Records press release states that TEMISTO arose from the ashes of a band called CHAPEL consisting of two unknown (probably quite young) Stockholmaniacs simply called Leo and Sebastian sharing all kinds of bass, guitar, drum and vocal duties. After entering some studio to record not a demo nor an EP or MLP but a 38+ minutes full length record to be released by a quite prestigious Death Metal label, what should we think of that? To sum this up, we have a completely unknown band (neither CHAPEL nor TEMISTO are included within the Metal Archives for example) in which Leo and Sebastian run riot on all kinds of heavy artillery, signed to a well-known label with a full length release ready to shatter the underground. Exactly, oh and how they will shatter the underground! This release is just utterly mind-blowing. The record proverbially sucks you in within its first few seconds only to let you wander through a psychotic, dark and twisted maze of disharmonies, extreme brutality as well as some calmer moments. While the first track kind of sounds like a more psychedelic version of the unholy trinity of dark US Death Metal namely MORBID ANGEL, NECROVORE and INCUBUS the second track ‘Descent Into Madness’ reeks of Swedish Black Metal à la NIFELHEIM et al. Insane speed, ripping guitar riffs, vocals which sound as if they’d have been recorded directly from a coffin combined with great songwriting and an even greater overall production which is even as an MP3 extremely organic and warm sounding. TEMISTO continue to include their Black Metal influences with the third song even though this time with hints of “Storm Of The Light’s Bane” era DISSECTION. The song is a bit calmer and more atmospheric than the previous ones without losing the insanity provided beforehand. The track even finishes off with a longer acoustic guitar part which slowly fades into silence. ‘Medusa’ again adds some speed and American Death Metal which also includes some acoustic guitars as well as an overall melodic guitar playing after reaching its middle part. The first half of the record gets finished off by an acoustic guitar track that lacks a bit of diversity but nevertheless fulfills its purpose of keeping a dark atmosphere alive. Track number six, ‘Succubus’, is utterly savage, simple as that. Fast ANGELCORPSE like opening riffs transcend the listener into a state of pure satisfaction while a more calm middle part gives you some air to breathe only to return into this psychotic state of Death Metal supremacy. An insane almost millisecond long guitar solo leads over into ‘Demiurge” starting with a catchy bassline which is soon to be accompanied by synthesizing drums and crystal clear guitar chords expanding into a headbangable Black Metal rhythm. After that the song returns to its clear guitar chords which prepare for ‘Bestial Visions’! Actually I hoped for a more SEPULTURA influenced track but TEMISTO deliver top notch Black / Death Metal instead. Again they include a lot of twists without sounding too progressive, enhancing the song from mid-tempo to full speed. ‘Temple Of The Damned’ starts similar as the previous and has a similar structure as well which unfortunately make it the weakest song of the record. Maybe a different tracklist would have been suitable to avoid this. ‘Seance’ marks the acoustic guitar driven finish of this outstanding and very mature sounding debut record of a band that will get a lot of recognition in the future. This is not a release you might want to check out, this is a release you have to check out! www.facebook.com/temisto-1759035924307810, https://pulverised.bandcamp.com/album/temisto, www.facebook.com/pulverisedrecords

Marco Stebich

Marco Stebich

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