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Magister Templi: Into Duat

I once did some research in a library archive that held a generous collection of Aleister Crowley's writings. I wasn't there to read Mr. Crowley's work, but I inquired about the collection and was told that some of the staff was afraid of getting near it, largely on the grounds that it was too scary. Many readers will certainly chuckle at that point. Nevertheless, Crowley has fascinated and repulsed plenty of people.

The guys in Magister Templi certainly understand something of Crowley's appeal. The band's previous work has explored much of that philosophy and has established a pretty good reputation along the way. With this album, the band goes in a slightly different direction, preferring to write about Egyptian mythology and its own tendency to arouse curiosity and fascination.

The result is an album that combines the best qualities (and mysteries) of occult rock with a heavier, more aggressive sound. At times, Magister Templi draws on the twin-guitar sounds of old-school metal with good effect. As good as the music is, the vocals are even better. Delivered with passion, clarity, and authority, they perform the lyrics as though invoking the very gods they describe.

This is a heavy and entertaining album, definitely worth a listen. Check out "Slaying Apophis" and "Osiris."

See more about this release on our recent YouTube show!

Track Listing:
1. Creation
2. Lord of the Morning
3. Osiris
4. Horus the Avenger
5. Anubis
6. Sobek
7. Slaying Apophis
8. Destruction

Added: September 28th 2015
Reviewer: Carl Sederholm
Score:
Related Link: Band Facebook Page
Hits: 2096
Language: english

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Magister Templi: Into Duat
Posted by Pete Pardo, SoT Staff Writer on 2015-09-28 12:32:54
My Score:

The Oslo, Norway five piece known as Magister Templi hooked up with the excellent Cruz Del Sur label a few years back for their debut full length album Lucifer Leviathan Logos, and they are back with the follow-up, titled Into Duat. Anyone who is familiar with Egyptian mythology will be happy to know that 'Into Duat' stands for 'the realm of Oriris', a sure signal that this new release is filled with all things having to do with the dark, mysterious days of ancient Egypt. Magister Templi however don't take the route of death metal acts like Nile or Scarab, instead, they mix doom and classic metal sounds to tell their Egyptian tales, and it works out quite well.

Imagine if you will the doomy riffs of Candlemass, Trouble, and Witchfinder General, mixed with the intricate arrangements of Mercyful Fate, the NWOBHM gallop of Iron Maiden or Angel Witch, the old school metal of Manilla Road & Cirith Ungol, and the epic nature of early Rainbow, and you have somewhat of an idea as to the musical template on display here. Many of the riffs are pretty powerful, blasting back and forth between doom and epic, classic metal, giving tracks like "Anubis" and "Osiris" a firm launching bad for vocalist Abraxis d'Ruckus to soar to the heavens. The headbanging moments are frequent and formidable, as on "Creation", "The Lord of the Morning", and "Horus the Avenger", while "Slaying Apophis" crushes like some of the thrashier Manilla Road material.

While perhaps short of being a classic, Into Duat represents a very talented band who I think are only going to get better. Recommended.



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