Instrumental metal typically comes in a proggy flavor: the bands that rule the instrumental scene are groups like Pomegranate Tiger, Intervals (on both of their EPs), or Wide Eyes. Does this mean that instrumental stuff doesn’t exist in other subgenres? No, of course not. There are bands in every subgenre that convey their message through their instruments and choose to forsake vocals in the process.
However, it needs to be said that in the modern scene, finding a band that both writes instrumental metal and doesn’t fall under the progressive metal heading is a fantastic breath of fresh air, and Tempel, the Arizonian blackened doom duet, is ready to provide you with a big damn oxygen tank.
Their new album, The Moon Lit Our Path, is a phenomenal and beautiful slice of powerful instrumental compositions, and it’s streaming in full for you today. Comprising of five tracks that range from the eight-to-twelve minute range, the album perfectly captures an epic atmospheric vibe that many bands strive to reach.
For those of us who are reading from the southwestern United States (or have at least been there or watched Breaking Bad or something), I’d like to posit the idea that this band is an exemplifier of what I call “desert/savannah metal”: atmospheric metal that blisters and gnaws at the ears, but in a beautiful way, the same way the sun and dryness do here in New Mexico and Arizona, combined with the sheer grandeur of vast canyons and arid mesas. Another key entry in this genre is 2013’s Gorguts album, Coloured Sands.
The Moon Lit Our Path comes out on June 16th via Prosthetic Records. If you can’t wait that long, Metalhammer is streaming it in full here.
-SH