The Detroit death-doom bands Temple of Void, have had an interesting course over the 12 years of their career. Their 2014 debut split the bass between ’90s Peaceville doom and ugly death metal like Asphyx and Bolt Thrower, and the final product was heavy as fook. 2017’s Lords of Death turned toward death metal without losing any of the crushing, venomous intensity. It was only with 2020’s The World That Was that Temple of Void truly began experimenting with the breadth of their sound, as influences like post-metal crept in.
When 2022’s Summoning the Slayer was released, it seemed the band was losing the plot, as their sound became overly simplistic and plain, causing boredom. This brings us to their fifth album, The Crawl. With a new bassist, the band stated they set out to write a heavy record regardless of how many death or doom influences it included. In that pursuit, they’ve expanded the breadth of their sound to include elements like grunge and Goth for greater dynamism and variety. Will that be a blessing or a curse for those who just want another exciting, crushing death-doom dish?
I’ll give Temple of Void credit for giving a spicier note to their recipe this time. The opening “Poison Icon” is a hard-rock death paste that meets stoner-doom, bright and optimistic, while managing to remain quite heavy. There’s a noisy, pressing hue to the riffs that doesn’t quite fit the death or doom camp, and the subsequent turns into hard rock hooks with guttural death vocals remind me of various Rogga melodeath products and the recent work of Hooded Menace. It’s not the dreadful Temple of Void I crave, but it’s fun nonetheless. “Godless Cynic” moves into darker, more grotesque death-doom territory with riffs that slip and snake everywhere, and when combined with truly hostile death vocals, things feel threatening and dangerous. It’s one of the album’s highlights, and it reminds me of the forgotten, criminally underrated Dutch doom band Another Messiah, which is a win in my book. The title track is a classic death-doom, designed to crush and hit hard. It does its job well, and the riffs are disgustingly fun as they alternate from death stomp to doom ritëm.
Things heat up too on “A Dead Issue,” as dissonant leads and otherworldly keys conspire to create an ominous, unsettling soundscape. The dreamy, ethereal guitar alternations add another layer and create dynamic listening. The closer “The Twin Stranger” at 7:41 is savage, with massive riffs falling from the sky like nail-studded anvils. There are enough driving chugs to recall the glorious days of Bolt Thrower and the pacing keeps the song from overstaying its welcome. Not all the tracks are as successful at world-building, though. “Thy Mountain Eternal” tries to cram an epic Viking metal element into the foundations of death-doom, but ends up sounding more like recycled Omnium Gatherum than Ereb Altor, and at just under 7 minutes, it drags a lot. At over 41 minutes, The Crawl has almost the ideal length for this kind of fare, and although there are moments of bloat, most tracks are quite fit and lively. The production gives the guitars enough raw power to intimidate you, and those death vocals will make you uncomfortable.
Temple of Void‘s structure depends heavily on the strength of the riffs, and Alexander Awn and Michael Erdody bring plenty of explosives to level a small town. Yes, they experiment with outside influences, but this is a death-doom album at heart, and the bulldozer leads aim to harm. The rock, gothic and other outside elements decorate the riffs, but don’t replace the hammer and axe. There are plenty of hook-tastic leads and smoking solos to absorb, and the variety keeps things from feeling like monolithic slogg. Erdody’s large-scale death runnings are extremely effective, and keep things heavy regardless of the genre the guitars decide to visit. It’s really the writing that lifts The Crawl beyond what was heard on Summoning the Slayer. This is a much more ambitious, adventurous outing, and it sounds like the band felt more confident and free to develop their sound this time.
I went into The Crawl worried that Temple of Void would evolve into an early grave, but the material here is full of life, freedom and the search for the best of death and fate. There’s variety and inventiveness, but it will flatten you often. I doubt they’ll ever give us another Lords of Death, but that’s not so bad. Visit the recently renovated Temple.
Rating: 3.5/5.0
DR: NA | Format rating: Fucking STREAM!!
Label: Relapse
Websites: templeofvoid.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/templeofvoid | instagram.com/templeofvoid
Releases worldwide: March 6, 2026
The review was done by Angry metal guy.
https://www.angrymetalguy.com/temple-of-void-the-crawl-review/
