Saturnalia Temple – To the Other (2015)

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Finally being released in North America by The Ajna Offensive, Saturnalia Temple’s sophomore full-length “To the Other” arrives on April 7th, 2015. Having seen the band live at Stella Natura, we started following their unique Pyschedelic/Stoner Doom Metal since then. In this release the band further strengthens their presence with seven/eight tracks of punishing riffs and a very rich wall of sound.

Pouncing at the listener with their opening track (that got sandwiched with the intro in the version of this album we reviewed), the band delivers savagely distorted riffs and hellish vocals. It is not until the next track, “To the Other”, that the band changes its attack approach to a more Stoner vibe with the underlying crunchy riffage that characterizes their style. Falling in from one type of trance to the next one, “Snow of Reason” nicely changes the pace thanks to some more engaged drums and a less oppressive guitar distortion.

Going back into their nasty and raw distorted guitars, “March of Gha'agsheblah” is a heavy piece that will rattle your speakers from beginning to end. While the band’s music is not incredible complex or features tones of tempo changes, they focus on finding punishing riffs/distortion combinations and assault the listener with a hefty dosage of them. Our favorite track in this release is the crunchy “Black Sea of Power” and its very simple and yet catchy, combination of riffs that made us instantly want to start headbanging.

As the aural abuse continues with “CrownedWithSeven” and the hauntingly atmospheric “Void”, we are very impressed on how good Saturnalia Temple is, in terms of creating different heavy walls of sounds on each of their songs. With a limited arsenal (three band members), this outfit rivals Yob in terms of creating a completely crushing musical experience both on stage and on album. If you believe in the power of the riff, “To the Other” is one fine release to add to your collection.

Band: Saturnalia Temple Album: To the Other

Label: The Ajna Offensive

Release: April 7th, 2015

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Genre: Doom Metal

Country: Sweden

Rating: 88/100
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