It’s a brief but intense catalog of miseries that Detroit double-guitar five-piece Temple of Void emit on their 2013 debut release, Demo MMXIII. It is a demo, obviously, and self-released in an initial CD pressing of 200 — reportedly there’s a repress in the works — and it comprises just three tracks that total 22:15 between them, with “Beyond the Ultimate” and “Exanimate Gaze” hovering around six minutes each while closer “Bargain in Death” extends the lurch to 10:36, rounding out with cyclical riffing that more or less could go as long as the band wanted it. Aggressive, tonally weighted and dark in its atmosphere, Demo MMXIII is on the sludgier end of doom, but follows a course derived in no small part from extreme metal — death metal, particularly — and vocalist Mike Erdody, also of the live incarnation of Acid Witch and formerly of Borrowed Time, is a big part of what situates them as such. His vocals aren’t unipolar in the sense of just being low-register growls, but there’s no clean singing to be found in any of the three tracks, so Temple of Void wind up with a newer-school feeling take on death-doom. The tones of guitarists Eric Blanchard and Alex Awn are oppressively heavy, but not overly concerned with adhering to a classic approach, and though “Exanimate Gaze” speeds up some toward its end, the demo by and large makes its sonic impression with a thunderous plod thickened and pushed forward by bassist Brent Satterly and drummer Jason Pearce, and presents its extremity in a manner both professional and vicious.

Production quality comes into play quickly with Demo MMXIII in that it would be a much different release if recorded dirtier. I guess that’s universally true — if things were different, they would be different — but it comes into relief with Temple of Void in that where their moniker might lead a listener to expect cave echoes and direct-to-Maxell rehearsal-room quality in the recording, “Beyond the Ultimate” dispels that idea before even the first verse has begun. Erdody sets the tone with a welcoming growl over a nasty, hulking riff, and by the time they’re a minute deep, Demo MMXIII has established a course far from the dictates of doomly trend. That is to say, there’s nothing cultish in their temple. Sure, the lyrics of “Beyond the Ultimate,” which come included with the CD version but are also available online, talk of “Haunting, cryptic visions,” and sacrificial summonings, but the vibe is utterly terrestrial and rather than try to creep you out with its vibe, it takes the (admittedly, more efficient) route of bludgeoning you with a hammer. The actual words to the song are largely indecipherable through Erdody‘s growls — at least until you’re reading along — and the aggression in his style is the stuff more of modern deathcore than most of what one runs into even in death-doom, where playing ultra-low growls and clean vocals or spoken parts, Novembers Doom-style, is the expected norm. Both for that reason and the sheer fact that the band sound so pissed off, I’m more inclined to think of Demo MMXIII as death-sludge, but its foundations are unquestionably metal and the result is brutal and poised in like measure.

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It’s been almost five months since I first encountered the debut Demo MMXIII from Philadelphia trad doomers Crypt Sermon, and I still find myself with the chorus of “Temple Doors” stuck in my head at the mere mention of the band’s name. Perhaps it’s little surprise then that Dark Descent Records has picked up the three-tracker for a limited tape release, which will be the first physical release from the four-piece outfit, who make short work of the difficult task of adhering to doomly tenets while forging a personality of their own apart from them. The demo got gushed over here if you want to check it out, and kudos to the band on getting it out. I’m already looking forward to their next outing.

Here’s the PR wire info and the Bandcamp stream for your gloomy fix:

CRYPT SERMON Announce Debut Release on Dark Descent Records

Epic doom metal scions CRYPT SERMON have announced the forthcoming release of their 2013 debut, “DEMO MMXIII” in the form of a limited edition cassette tape via Dark Descent Records. The tape, exclusively limited to 300 copies, is slated for a worldwide release on December 17.

“DEMO MMXII” is streaming in full at cryptsermon.bandcamp.com.

“DEMO MMXIII” Track list:
1.) Temple Doors
2.) Belly of the Whale
3.) Whore of Babylon

Founded on the principles of unwavering epic doom metal, Philadelphia’s CRYPT SERMON exist as a vehicle to drive out the current trends that are choking the underground scene. Devoid of contemporary doom conventions, “DEMO MMXIII” showcases three tracks of carefully crafted old-school doom metal that carries the torch for stalwarts such as CANDLEMASS and SOLITUDE AETERNUS.

Regarding the forthcoming release, the band said: “CRYPT SERMON is thrilled to see our demo finally unearthed. We’d like to thank Dark Descent Records for their support, and look forward to creating new music for the underground. We are currently hard at work writing our full length debut, and look forward to hitting the road in the near future.”

For updated CRYPT SERMON news and tour dates, please visit the CRYPT SERMON Facebook page, and the Dark Descent Records website.

www.facebook.com/CryptSermon
www.darkdescentrecords.com
darkdescentrecords.bandcamp.com
www.facebook.com/DarkDescentRecords

Crypt Sermon, Demo MMXIII (2013)

Info is relatively sparse on Philadelphia-based traditional doomers Crypt Sermon. Their Demo MMXIII contains three tracks totaling out at around 17 minutes of shred-prone doom, given to the trenchant atmospherics of The Gates of Slumber or a rawer Magic Circle, and beyond that and their professed disdain for “fashions and beards,” they haven’t put much out there at this point. For what it’s worth, the music is a good place to start.

The three cuts on Demo MMXIII follow largely similar, straightforward verse/chorus structures, and between “Temple Doors,” “Belly of the Whale” and the closing “Whore of Babylon,” the strong hooks come immediately. “Temple Doors” arrives at a chorus of “What do my eyes see?/Nothing but darkness,” that leaves a strong and decidedly grim impression with vocals either layered or contributed by more than one member of the band (or both), and is complemented by the first of several head-turning classic metal guitar solos. That Crypt Sermon would boast connections to death metallers Trenchrot makes sense in hearing the guitar solos — there’s a deathly precision to the shred that speaks to a technicality more extreme than one usually finds in doom. In any case, that’s balanced well with the spooky groove, “Temple Doors” moving into the churning riff of “Belly of the Whale,” vocals far back, throaty but clean, echoing and peppered with quick proto-thrash screams.

Shades of Lord Vicar and Pagan Altar tint the material here and there, but Crypt Sermon are never veer too far from that underlying extremity, and the ensuing tension bleeds into the finale on “Whore of Babylon,” though at the same time, the lead interplay of the guitars has a nascent sense of ’80s misery à la Solitude Aeturnus that makes me think should Crypt Sermon decide at some point to get grandiose, they’d have an easier time of it than it might initially appear. Whether or not they’ll do that, and whether or not doing that would take away from the appeal the rawness here presents — not to mention how well that rawness suits the vocals, where something more developed would invariably require likewise development in range — I don’t know, but “Whore of Babylon” culminates with vocals and guitar coming together over doomly stomp before the quick fade gets the better of the wailing.

A tape release is en route via Dark Descent Records (Anguish, Ilsa, Cygnus, etc.), and presumably this won’t be the last we hear from Crypt Sermon, so if you get the chance, Demo MMXIII is available for a free sampling at the band’s Bandcamp page, from which I hoisted the player below:

Crypt Sermon, Demo MMXIII (2013)

Crypt Sermon on Thee Facebooks

Crypt Sermon on Bandcamp