Review by Sonny for Temple of Void - The Crawl (2026)

I have been all over Temple of Void for about a decade now. Their doomy and cavernous version of death metal has produced some of my favourite death metal albums of recent years, peaking with 2020's "The World That Was". What sets Temple of Void apart is their willingness to tweak and tinker with a well-established style of death metal and in so doing produce records that aren't entirely predictable, but which still contain plenty of what is recognisable of the old-school death and death doom metal philosophy. Needless to say I had high hopes for "The Crawl" and although I had sat on it for a few months following its release in March, it has certainly grabbed my attention now that I have finally got round to checking it out.

Opening track "Poison Icon" kicks off, straight out of the gate, in formidable style with a driving riff overlaid with a searing solo, ensuring that the listener's attention is grabbed from the very start. This isn't the whole story with "Poison Icon" though as it soon takes on a gothic flavour with a marked Paradise Lost influence, although it still remains firmly ensconced on the OSDM side of the fence. Further intense soloing leads the track out and it is apparent, even by the end of track one, that Temple of Void have stepped things up both in songwriting terms and in intensity of delivery. "Godless Cynic" features a more dissonant style of guitar lead laid over a mid-paced, chugging rhythm track that feels ominously hulking and portentious and in direct contrast to the opener, leaving us in no doubt that the band really mean business this time round and intend to stretch themselves more than ever. The title track is up next and is a slower, doomier affair with a riff that is almost as much rooted in traditional doom metal as it is death metal, weirdly like I would imagine Black Sabbath sounding if they played death metal! "A Dead Issue" is another slower-paced affair that begins with a spacey synth intro before launching into its melodic main riff and which features jangling, weirdly discordant leads that morph into soaring solos.

"Thy Mountain Eternal" is a somewhat bombastic, progressive-sounding affair with several musical twists and turns, occasionally feeling reminiscent of late metal-era Opeth only with more Dave Gilmour-ish soloing, although for me this is the album's weakest offering. Penultimate track "Soulburn" is one of the band's most melodic and features riffs and verses that are almost catchy, especially with the synth overlay, once more reminding me of Paradise Lost and providing one of the band's more memorable offerings. Closing with longest track, "The Twin Strangers", the band go out in style with a track that kicks off with a brooding, rampaging death metal riff before hitting the brakes on a hulking end-section which builds with interweaving twin leads before fading into the cosmos in a haze of ambient synths.

Now, all this may make "The Crawl" sound like an eclectic and varied affair and, to a certain extent, it is but, to be clear, this is still an album that has its roots firmly dug into the OSDM ethos, no better illustrated than by Mike Erdody's vocals which never shift from their growling, gutteral death metal roar. I think the album actually strikes a nice balance between innovation and tradition, each track very much fitting together and complementing each other, making for a very rewarding listening experience that presents variation whilst still giving the OSDM fan plenty of their favourite poison to savour. The songwriting and technical prowess of the band is continuing to blossom, the production is crystal clear throughout, bass and drums getting every bit as much attention as the guitar and vocals and I think with repeated listens this may well establish itself as my favourite Temple of Void album, ultimately dethroning "The World That Was".