Reviewed – 02/12/06
The Temple of Full Moon
[No Colours Records]
What we have here is the debut album "The Temple Of Fullmoon" from the relatively new Black Metal band Werewolf. Everything about this Polish band's music makes me think of Graveland's older albums. From both bands hailing from Poland, to both bands being on No Colours Records, to their similar stripped down, raw and ugly sound, this Werewolf album really has a distinct "Carpathian Wolves" atmosphere about it. The guitar melodies are clunky and not played very well at all, the drumming is a bit off and I think the band actually uses a drum machine, but like Graveland, it somehow works! Maybe the reason I like this album so much is strictly because this sounds so much like early Graveland, I don't really know. Another thing I like about "The Temple Of Fullmoon" is its slow and prodding pace. Very rarely is the music blazingly fast, and this is how I like it when it comes to raw Black Metal as these band's music seems to fall apart when played at high rates of speed. Werewolf keeps it a bit slower, a bit more precise, and concentrates on a creepy atmosphere rather than concentrating on speed.
The vocals are average Black Metal in style, and again I am reminded of Graveland with these vocals. The lyrics seem to focus strictly on lycanthropy and pagan themes. It would have been nice to have the lyrics to read as the music played along as they seem interesting, and are in English I would have been able to understand them.
The production on "The Temple Of Fullmoon" is very middle of the road. Its not terrible, low-fi or muddy sounding, but the album doesn't have a great production either. When taking into consideration the shitty production most bands like this give their albums, the production here is great in comparison though.
The cover art they used is rather simple, but it's still pretty damn cool. It shows a... well, werewolf snarling like he's pissed off. The background scenery artwork on the cover showing mountains and forests is really well done as well.
Fans of Graveland's older music that don't care for Graveland's new Viking styled direction will definitely want to pick up "The Temple Of Fullmoon" as this is a great homage to Graveland's formative years. As with Graveland, you shouldn't buy this album expecting to hear the best musicianship in the world, but what you should expect and will receive is great songwriting by a band who isn't afraid to add a whole lot of eerie atmosphere to their music.
[No Colours Records]
What we have here is the debut album "The Temple Of Fullmoon" from the relatively new Black Metal band Werewolf. Everything about this Polish band's music makes me think of Graveland's older albums. From both bands hailing from Poland, to both bands being on No Colours Records, to their similar stripped down, raw and ugly sound, this Werewolf album really has a distinct "Carpathian Wolves" atmosphere about it. The guitar melodies are clunky and not played very well at all, the drumming is a bit off and I think the band actually uses a drum machine, but like Graveland, it somehow works! Maybe the reason I like this album so much is strictly because this sounds so much like early Graveland, I don't really know. Another thing I like about "The Temple Of Fullmoon" is its slow and prodding pace. Very rarely is the music blazingly fast, and this is how I like it when it comes to raw Black Metal as these band's music seems to fall apart when played at high rates of speed. Werewolf keeps it a bit slower, a bit more precise, and concentrates on a creepy atmosphere rather than concentrating on speed.
The vocals are average Black Metal in style, and again I am reminded of Graveland with these vocals. The lyrics seem to focus strictly on lycanthropy and pagan themes. It would have been nice to have the lyrics to read as the music played along as they seem interesting, and are in English I would have been able to understand them.
The production on "The Temple Of Fullmoon" is very middle of the road. Its not terrible, low-fi or muddy sounding, but the album doesn't have a great production either. When taking into consideration the shitty production most bands like this give their albums, the production here is great in comparison though.
The cover art they used is rather simple, but it's still pretty damn cool. It shows a... well, werewolf snarling like he's pissed off. The background scenery artwork on the cover showing mountains and forests is really well done as well.
Fans of Graveland's older music that don't care for Graveland's new Viking styled direction will definitely want to pick up "The Temple Of Fullmoon" as this is a great homage to Graveland's formative years. As with Graveland, you shouldn't buy this album expecting to hear the best musicianship in the world, but what you should expect and will receive is great songwriting by a band who isn't afraid to add a whole lot of eerie atmosphere to their music.
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Tracklist:
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| Rating: 8/10 | |
| Release Date: 2005 | |
| Length: 38:32 | |
| Review By: Britton Dicks | |
| Total Reviews: (1) | |
| Band's Website: No Site | |
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