Effortlessly, it’s since the arrival of black and death metal upon the global scene has the combination of the two become a true phenomenon that’s become a nigh-on integral part of the metal underground for the many bands that have attempted to bring them together for massive creations that took the very ideas of extreme metal to its furthest lengths without compromisation. But, whenever a scene like that becomes over-saturated, it can be easy for any number of bands to come around and feel like they’re not capitalizing on such glory as much as they could be. It’s a balance of luck, timing, and simply looking in the right place that we’re able to still discover bands that manage to bring naught but true glory to the crossover realm. With their very first full-length album, Temple of Decay has already poised themselves to be a name that effortlessly qualifies as such an intriguing act.

Having just one EP to their name before the release of “Rigor Mortis”, it wouldn’t be hard for any of us to imagine that Temple of Decay wouldn’t be as compelling as plenty of other acts out there may be no matter how competent they may be from the very onset of their dark crusade. Yet, it’s almost immediately that this one-man band out of Poland shows its worth and how much it demands your time to hear all that it can bring to the table with the seven tracks to be heard for this effort, including a very well-done Venom cover. It’s still a largely straight-forward creation compared to many other works of black/death metal out there that seek to consume all light out of the universe or melt the minds of any listener that comes into its path, but it’s in every way that Temple of Decay manages to craft an unforgiving experience that doesn’t hold anything back whether it’s some absolutely scalding riffage or slowed down madness that comes together to make for a wondrous contrast. Quickly, it allows “Rigor Mortis” to have both the unyielding power and knowledge of when to pull back for maximum effect, showing us that this act is so much more than a simple one-trick performance that does nothing but be fast and loud in a hollow attempt to sound aggressive, blasphemous, or any level of heavy. That’s a key element of any overall performance that far too many bands in this style find themselves succumbing to without even realizing it with the reality of Temple of Decay dodging such tragedy with real aptitude that really ties this studio album together in no less than exemplary detail to make it one that must be heard and a solid template for whatever a new band can do to simply set themselves apart from a large part of the underground rabble without necessarily doing anything that dares to flip the sound on its very head.

Far from the craziest work that I’ve heard from this style, this is what it means to stick to your guns and simply go with what you know in order to craft an experience that is undoubtedly your’s without having to compromise for literally any outside factor of your performance. The foundations that Temple of Decay has put forth with “Rigor Mortis” simply cannot be denied for all that it accomplishes, and I can only imagine that the deeper catacombs of the band’s capacity hold the sort of wonder that many of us are simply not prepared for.

“Rigor Mortis” releases on April 22nd via Godz ov War Productions and Black Death Productions!

LISTEN to advanced tracks from “Rigor Mortis” on Bandcamp here.