Originally formed at the end of the 90’s by Amduscias (vocals, guitars), this Parisian-based Black Metal outfit soon became a band, and at the time of this 2015 release also featured bassist Arkdaemon who had been there since the beginning and drummer Skvm who featured on the excellent ‘Verses of Fire’. ‘Mysterium’ saw them move away from a trio back to a quartet with the addition of guitarist Saroth, but musically they continued in a similar fashion with a style which brings in elements of death and thrash to blend in with Black Metal. Their style is always melodic, yet with brutal elements, but they can also easily switch into something far more atmospheric, either with choral vocals or by dropping into totally different arrangements with far more space.

For the most part this is a wall of sound approach, and consequently it is not something to be played in the background as there is a danger it will just blend into each other, which is certainly not what it deserves as if one takes the time to actually listen to this there is a lot going on, yet is also very easy to listen to and enjoy on first playthrough. I do not know why but the band have been on hold since not long after this was released, although it does appear that Amduscias has thrown himself into another project, Conviction, which again started as just him before he brought in others to make it into a full band so only time will tell if Temple of Baal will rise again, but until then this is a fine example of blackened death.

Rating: 7/10

Links:
https://www.facebook.com/Templeofbaal/
https://www.agoniarecords.com/