TEMPLE OF LIES – The Serial Killer Suite

UK Stoner Metal band Temple Of Lies, a four piece outfit, describes their third studio album as a concept album relating to their life experiences over the previous eighteen months.  With the album titled, The Serial Killer Suite, it’s wise the band explains the lyrics are metaphorical and open to listener interpretation.

While the lyrics provide the listener with fodder for contemplation, the music will not.  The song structures are uncomplicated and blunt; instrumental virtuosity is not emphasized.  An uncomplicated approach won’t doom an album; though the mix must not distract, the band must be tight, and the songs hook-laden.  The Serial Killer Suite is mixed well with a thick guitar tone, meaty bass, and drums and vocals which aren’t overwhelming.  The musicianship and gritty vocals combine for a sufficiently bludgeoning Stoner Metal groove.

Unfortunately the riffs don’t do enough to push the songs above average.  Tracks such as “Broken Mind” with its stuttering riffs and “Modus Operandi” and “Nihilistic Dreams” with their weak, atmospheric riffing, which do nothing more than mark time, are forgettable.

However, there are songs which rise above sludge: the short, up-tempo “Illusion Of Choice”, and the hook-laden “Skin”.  “I Cut You Bleed” has a particularly effective bridge with drum and guitar interplay.  The nuances of Slayer-esque guitar tones and riffs apparent throughout the album come to fore during “Symbiotic Parasite”.

The Serial Killer Suite, though well-produced and performed, is an uneven collection of Stoner Metal songs.

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