Fantasy has always played a magnificent role in what the metal underground has pulled from for inspiration, and that proves to be no different for today’s landscape. Even as we find ourselves before bands that are going over the same material tirelessly, there’s still splendor to be had so long as there’s genuine imagination and talent at work that can bring everything together in such a form that feels compelling and satisfying all the way to its end. As a name that not many are aware of, to witness Dead Sacraments demonstrate mastery over such a realm of doom metal is to witness a band rise from nothingness to seize excellence all for its own.

While I cannot say if there’s a particular fantasy realm that Dead Sacraments pulls from in order to bring this album to life, I cannot help but feel as though there’s more than a little influence from dungeon crawling that allowed this album to become its own with Dead Sacraments clearly having intimate knowledge on not just how to approach such a theme, but how to deliver it in such a form that is nigh on fitting and invigorating. Across four tracks with only one of them clocking in under eleven minutes, “The Pale Temple and Others” is undeniably heavy and meticulous in how much time it spends in dragging out the riff and allowing atmosphere to creep in between the notes as the world swirls around Dead Sacraments lit by torches and stained by blood upon the cave walls. It’s simple in its execution, but that only adds to the raw factor of deadliness that Dead Sacraments wields at every given moment of these epics with nothing being overdone but cooked perfectly for the proper time with the end-result a layered and supremely flavorful blend that requires more than a little patience to see all that it has to offer, yet doom fans know a slow burn done right is always worth it. A record that takes its time but is more than welcoming to those willing to see all that it has to offer one inch at a time, “The Pale Temple and Others” is something that fans of the genre should fawn over for several reasons.

When a name comes around that shows real promise, it either revels in the relative obscurity of the underground or rises like a star through the different levels of the scene. In the case of Dead Sacraments, I know not what the future has in store for the act but the quality of “The Pale Temple and Others” is more than deserving of a cult following and a lot of attention the world over. Whatever is it happen, the truth remains: Dead Sacraments has made its claim to heavy greatness clear with that very claim backed up by immensity and capacity the likes of which one cannot simply push aside.

LISTEN to “The Pale Temple and Others” on Bandcamp here.

LIKE Dead Sacraments on Facebook here.