TEMPLE OF DREAD unleash lyric video ‘The Plague’
and unveil details of new album “Beyond Acheron”
TEMPLE OF DREAD reveal the lyric video ‘The Plague‘ as the first single taken from the East Frisians‘ forthcoming new album “Beyond Acheron“, which is scheduled for release on August 11, 2023.
TEMPLE OF DREAD comment: “Our first single, ‘The Plague’, starts very groovy but ignites the full charge of old school death metal at least when we arrive at the chorus”, guitarist Markus Bünnemeyer explains. “Our singer Jens is supported by the amazing Marc Grewe, whose early works have very much inspired Temple of Dread. Their voices are surprisingly similar and complementary. The song’s lyrics revolve around the historic ‘Plague of Athens’. According to classical sources, this epidemic destroyed man from within and almost destroyed a whole civilization. Any parallels to modern pandemics are ‘purely coincidental’. Ecuadorian director Christian Kdrumworm has brilliantly visualised our lyrics with great attention to the details of the ‘Beyond Acheron’ artwork created by the incredible Paolo Girardi!!”
Video credits
Visualisation by Christian Kdrumworm (k-drumworm-media)
Tracklist
1. Charon’s Call (Intro)
2. Beyond Acheron
3. World Below
4. Damnation
5. Dance of Decay
6. All-Consuming Fire
7. The Plague
8. Carnality Device
9. Asebeia
10. Hades
The East Frisian island of Spiekeroog is inhabited by a hardy stock of people. Harsh winter storms and the rough North Sea climate have produced an unrelenting folk known to prefer action to talk and hard to sway from their convictions. This is also very true of the isle’s only death metal band TEMPLE OF DREAD and their fourth full-length “Beyond Acheron”, which navigates straight ahead on the trio’s well established old school course.
Expanding from their brutal death metal base, TEMPLE OF DREAD have focussed on the cinematic aspects of their sound. On “Beyond Acheron”, the Frisians have added more dark and heavy parts as well as a healthy dash of melancholic feeling – and even black metal inspired moments. A spicy extra is added with guest-contributions by former MORGOTH and INSIDIOUS DISEASE vocalist Marc Grewe and GOD DETHRONED’s Henri Sattler.
Lyrically, “Beyond Acheron” operates both within and at the same time beyond the genre’s traditional splatter-horizon. TEMPLE OF DREAD enjoy the continued support of their friend and word-smith, the psychologist Frank Albers, who has again delivered intelligent gory texts that revolve around antique myth and history featuring protagonists such as Icarus, Vulcan, Hades, Cleopatra, and Marcus Antonius aka Mark Anthony. Although “Beyond Acheron” is not a concept album, classical themes run like Ariadne’s red thread through all its aspects.
This is also reflected in the cover artwork of “Beyond Acheron”, which has been created by celebrated Italian artist Paolo Girardi and depicts Charon, the ferryman who helps the souls of the dead to cross the River Styx to the Greek underworld Hades – provided they have a coin to pay for their passage.
It is no surprise that “Beyond Acheron” comes with a massive production as TEMPLE OF DREAD drummer Jörg Uken also happens to be the owner and operator of the renowned Soundlodge Tonstudio, where among many other acts DEW-SCENTED, GOD DETHRONED, OBSCENITY, SUICIDAL ANGELS, and WARPATH have previously recorded albums.
TEMPLE OF DREAD came into being on Spiekeroog in 2017 when guitarist Markus Bünnemeyer felt the need for a new outlet fueled by his old school death metal ambitions. He was joined by singer Jens Finger and drummer Jörg Uken, with both of whom Bünnemeyer was also active in Slaughterday, in 2018. The completed three-piece that has maintained a stable line-up ever since. It took only another year until the first full-length “Blood Craving Mantras” (2019) hit the scene hard and the trio proved extremely creative with two more albums following in rapid succession: “World Sacrifice” (2020) and the critically acclaimed “Hades Unleashed” only one year later in 2021.
With “Beyond Acheron”, TEMPLE OF DREAD have set a new benchmark for intelligent death metal brutality!
Release date: August 11, 2023
Style: Death Metal
Label: Testimony Records
Line-upJens Finger – vocals
Markus Bünnemeyer – guitars, bass
Jörg Uken – drums, keys
Guest musicians
Marc Grewe (ex-MORGOTH, INSIDIOUS DISEASE) – additional vocals on ‘The Plague’
Henri Sattler (GOD DETHRONED) – guitar solo on ‘Beyond Acheron’
Production, recording, mix & mastering
Jörg Uken, Soundloge Studios, Rhauderfehn, Germany
Artwork by Paolo Girardi
Layout by Hiko Kalojanov-Kramer
Links
www.facebook.com/TempleofDread
www.instagram.com/templeofdreadofficial
Shop
http://lnk.spkr.media/temple-of-dread-acheron
Available formats
“Beyond Acheron” is available as a CD. The first edition is limited to 1,000 copies, which are numbered by hand. The album is also available on black vinyl, and limited editions of silver vinyl & marble turquoise and black vinyl.
