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Premiere: Olde’s Temple is a Shrine to Doom

There’s no dearth of bands inspired by the likes of Motorhead or the Obsessed but many miss the mark when trying too hard to emulate their forebears rather than

7 years ago

There’s no dearth of bands inspired by the likes of Motorhead or the Obsessed but many miss the mark when trying too hard to emulate their forebears rather than putting their own aggressive stomp on the tried and true sound. This particular blend of blues-y, groove-laden metal often stays too long in its own lane, rarely straying from the formula to stretch and add enough of a band’s individual identity, but when a band is able to take this style and bend it to their will is where we get something unique.

To be sure, there are bands like High On Fire and Electric Wizard who have taken up the banner but, as a style, the landscape looks fairly bare in terms of standout acts. Into the fray jumps Olde with their own take on what those bands have left behind adding an addictive dose of gruff vocals, the thundering low-end and pace most commonly associated with doom, and abundant grooves. And even better? We have an exclusive streaming premiere of their new album, Temple, right here, right now.

“Subterfuge” instantly grabs you with its relentless groove and doesn’t let go for the duration before breaking loose around the 3:00 mark with a melodic guitar line reminiscent of Thin Lizzy updated through Olde’s filter. “Maelstrom” is a track with a relentless build that’s a must-listen here with it’s simple guitar motif drawing you in while “Castaway” serves as a terrific album closer sending the audience on their way with something memorable. But don’t just take it from us that Olde’s Temple is worth visiting. Here’s bassist, Cory McCallum, to say more about the making of this album.

“We are damned excited to drop this record. We feel we bring something unique to the heavy world, the doom world, the (not quite) stoner world. This is a pretty honest, sincere and unapologetic attempt to incessantly bludgeon our fans with our sound.” Regarding the influences on the band in making this record he said, “If we are comfortable and happy at the end of the process with how we stuck to our MO, we aren’t too worried about where other people may think we launched off from or aimed at.” And on the making of the album,  “It was exciting and refreshing to stand in a jam room and really create these songs from the ground up and learning to play with one another as opposed to just learning to play a song. We think it made for a more organic sounding beast, a more dynamic record with enhanced nuance, back-and-forth and, ultimately, new ways of getting heavier. So, we are really intrigued to see what our fans and the world think about the new material knowing that, more than ever, THIS is what Olde sounds like.”

Make up your own mind by checking out the stream above.

Temple is out August 11th through STB Records. You can pre-order the digital album here or vinyl here. You can also follow the band on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Bill Fetty

Published 7 years ago