German death metal band Temple of Dread dropped a lyric video for the crushing track Carnage Ritual, the first single from the East Frisians’ forthcoming new album. Titled God of the Godless, the nine track material will come out on October 4th, via Testimony Records.
Temple of Dread commented:
“Our first single Carnage Ritual harks back musically to the beginnings of this band and comes with no compromises and no experiments… It just delivers four minutes of full steam ahead!”, guitar shredder Marku
About the new album
Death metal can hardly get more dedicated and passionate about the old school Floridian sound than Temple of Dread on their fifth album God of the Godless. This might have something to do with the band being located on the German North Sea island of Spiekeroog. Also, the famously laconic and stubborn character of the East Frisian people.
Luckily, Temple of Dread are not mired in a swamp of stale nostalgia. Although God of the Godless comes with the brutal power of harsh winter storms and the gritty texture of the often fierce North Sea weather, the East Frisians have also refined the cinematic aspects of their sound that they had firmly established on the predecessor Beyond Acheron (2023).
Building on their brutal death metal base, Temple of Dread also work with dark and heavy parts… As well as a surprising dash of melancholia – and even some knife-tips of black metal spice. There is even a return of a guest-contribution by former Morgoth, Insidious Disease, and Asinhell vocalist Marc Grewe. Lyrically, the band continues to upgrade the genre’s traditional splatter-themes by translating them into the realm of classical myth. For the lyrics of God of the Godless, the East Frisians continue the fruitful collaboration with their friend and word-smith, the psychologist Frank “Doc” Albers.
About the artwork and production
Temple of Dread also relied once more on the celebrated Italian artist Paolo Girardi to illustrate the album’s general theme. Thus, the cover art of God of the Godless features the ferryman of the ancient Greek underworld again. In their story, Charon has risen from the mire to become the new god of the dead by overthrowing Hades.
The massive production of the album comes courtesy of drummer Jörg Uken, who owns and runs the renowned death metal smithy Soundlodge Tonstudio, in which leading acts of the scene such as God Dethroned, Obscenity and Warpath among others have also recorded albums.
Biography:
Temple of Dread came into being on Spiekeroog in 2017, when guitarist Markus Bünnemeyer decided to materialize his craving for old school death metal. In 2018, he was joined by singer Jens Finger and drummer Jörg Uken. The three-piece has maintained a stable line-up ever since. Their first full-length Blood Craving Mantras (2019) was an immediate success in death metal circles. Then, the hard working trio has proved extremely creative with World Sacrifice (2020). Also, with the critically acclaimed Hades Unleashed (2021) following in rapid succession.
While Beyond Acheron (2023) took a little longer, the band is now back on the fast track. Even better, the East Frisians have decided that it is time to leave their island and go raiding the rest of the world by performing live. With God of the Godless, Temple of Dread is again pushing the benchmark for intelligent death metal brutality to an even higher level!
Lineup
Jens Finger – vocals
Markus Bünnemeyer – guitars, bass
Jörg Uken – drums, keys
Guest musicians
Marc Grewe (ASINHELL, ex-MORGOTH) – additional vocals on ‘Sacrificial Dawn’
Tracklist
1. Carnage Ritual
2. Spawn of Filth
3. Black Scream
4. Sacrificial Dawn
5. God of the Godless
6. Prophetic Misanthropy
7. Monstrosity Divine
8. Terminal Putrefaction
9. Demise of Olympus
