After having reviewed
TEMPLE OF LIES' last album “
From Sand” over a year ago (and giving it a respectable eight out of ten), when I saw their latest offering “
The Serial Killer Suite” come through, I jumped to snatch it up before someone else did. With the same smooth Groove/Stoner emergy to it that “
From Sand” had, “
The Serial Killer Suite” is as dark as the name deserves.
Wasting absolutely no time “
Epic Doom” lives up to its name with a catchy opening riff and some great spoken vocals with just enough reverb to sound otherwordly and devilishly cool. Setting the theme for the rest of the album the way a good intro should, “
Epic Doom” grabs your attention while letting you know exactly what
ToL are all about. “
Illusion of Choice” has a groovy rhythm section followed by a Hard Rock/Heavy Metal track sounding like a bit of classic
METALLICA with a heavier tone made better because ToL can actually play more than the same two chords forever. One thing I particularly found fun was the final line of the song, “…every temple is a
TEMPLE OF LIES!”; it really made me laugh to hear the band reference themself in such a fun way like this.
“
Broken Mind” is harsh compared to the other tracks with a bit more of a Doom angle to it. “
Modus Operandi” has a much more Groovy energy to it, bringing out the Stoner smoothness and rhythm making it the best track in my opinion. “
Skin” introduces the double-kicks; kind of a rarity here that gives it a more definitive Heavy Metal quality that is by no means unwelcome. At risk of really causing some annoyance, “
I Cut You Bleed” really reminds me of
METALLICA's “
Shoot Me Again” from their much-hated “
St. Anger” album. Something about the vocals, tempo, and production choices for the first part of the song just really make it hard to shake the comparison. This is a good thing because I really enjoyed that album
“
Sleep” is another fantastic standout; a catchy Hard Rock/Sludge Metal song and a catchy 90s hook. “
Dark Energy” has a bleak, haunting spirit that creeps into your bones. Slow with subdued vocals growled into the rhythm so they bleed together into one sound. The next track really has “
Teeth”, cranking the dial back up after “
Dark Energy”, a real chugger. “
Symbiotic Parasite”is a great track, one of my favorites from
TEMPLE OF LIES and it really sums up all the things that
TEMPLE OF LIES do right.
I think
TEMPLE OF LIES really managed to outdo themselces with “
The Serial Killer Suite”; when you really enjoy an album from a fairly new or unknown band, you are never sure if they will be able to keep that momentum. I tried not to get my hopes up with this one but “
The Serial Killer Suite” not only measured up to “
From Sand” but I would say it improved on the formula. With a tougher grittier sound and more savage intensity that sets it apart. There is also a link here for the official music video to “
Skin” so feel free to check it out and worship at the
TEMPLE OF LIES.Songwriting: 9
Originality: 8
Memorability: 9
Production: 9