Of all the things that can be said about the current state of all things in the many realms of heavy psychedelia, stagnation is certainly not something that should even be brought up. The sound has been going through a certifiable renaissance in recent times with all sorts of bands from all parts of the world coming together to show us what can be done when we tune down and trip right out of this dimension altogether. We’ve seen plenty of rising names stake their claim for glory with efforts of all sorts of varying degrees of quality, and Heavy Temple has definitely been one of those names that many have been smart to keep in the conversation. Now, with their second album, Heavy Temple seeks to blow away expectations and live up to that very hype.

There are plenty of bands out there that have loads of excitement surrounding their individual risings for all the right reasons, and I don’t think I’ve witnessed one band have as feverish a following who continuously preach an upcoming album more so than Heavy Temple. While their minions have been hard at work making sure their name is constantly in circulation, Heavy Temple made it damn sure in the three years since their first full-length album that those preachings in not in vain. By and large, “Garden of Heathens” is a stroke of absolutely undeniable brilliance that already deserves to be hailed as one of the most engaging works of the genre that the year will surely see. It’s already that 2024 has thrown us some tremendous works of heaviness, psychedelia, and much of what’s in between, but it is in every single one of the eight tracks that adorn “Garden of Heathens” that Heavy Temple proves its worth over and over again. The album is simply magnetic with the riffs absolutely propelling the album forward to ensure that not only is the album intoxicating to the highest degree but outright addicting! Even when Heavy Temple pulls back so you can take in the whole of their awe-inspiring tapestry of heavy psych mastery, the jaw cannot help but make friends with the floor. A constant display of strength that ebbs and flows with the ether that powers the very universe, “Gardens of Heathens” is riveting from the beginning and truly hypnotic all throughout. We are guaranteed to see plenty of other noteworthy works of heavy psych as 2024 goes on, but each and every one of them is going to need to get past Heavy Temple should it want to claim the throne.

The acolytes of Heavy Temple may very well have psychic vision. I don’t think anybody could ever properly predict any album, but it’s crazy how often I’ve seen Heavy Temple represented over the years for this album to be the eventual result that makes the knees buckle out of raw disbelief. What has been accomplished within “Garden of Heathens” should not be ignored for all that it seized and pulled off with real passion and talent. If nothing else, the dedicated following of Heavy Temple should only expand viciously after this immense creation drops.

“Garden of Heathens” releases on April 12th via Magnetic Eye Records!

LISTEN to advanced tracks from “Garden of Heathens” on Bandcamp here.

LIKE Heavy Temple on Facebook here.