Artist: Forbidden Temple
Country: Belgium
Label: Medieval Prophecy Records
Formats: LP / Cassette Tape / CD
Year: 2025
Yes, I still have a lot of catching up to do. ‘In The Rotting Grave’ is Forbidden’s second full-length album that was released almost a year ago, I’ve heard it a couple of times but for several reasons I never got down for a write up. Since the band has already released a cassette tape after this album and it surely won’t be long before we hear from them again, it’s time to make a clean sweep. Better late than never…
For those who dwell in the depths of arcane and mysterious Black Metal, Forbidden Temple is not quite a secret anymore. The contrary is basically the case, Forbidden Temple can easily be regarded as the flagbearer of today’s occult Black Metal scene. With each of their releases, they have added to the grand mystique surrounding the band. There haven’t been many bands to which the term “underground gem” would apply as much as Forbidden Temple. Drawing on the old traditions of the warm-blooded occult Black Metal of Varathron and Mystifier, the band appeals to a completely different audience that values spellbinding atmosphere more than ice-cold speed.
In that respect, ‘In The Rotting Grave’ is an album that does exactly what you would expect from Forbidden Temple. It combines the atmosphere and mysticism of the aforementioned Varathron and Mystifier, but also Asaradel, Impurity, Samael, Mortuary Drape, Baxaxaxa, Barathrum, and classic Polish bands such as Xantotol, Veles, Mysteries, Infernum, and Graveland spring to mind. All bands that focus on the mood of a riff, at a Doom Metal tempo and, to a much lesser extent, on overwhelming aggression. The atmospheric use of keyboards in the otherwise bass-heavy approach gives the whole thing a conjuring character that seamlessly fit in a slowly but surely growing wave of like-minded folks.
Although the origins of this “trend” can be traced back a little further, it seems that this style has appealed to more people in the last five years or so. Not only within Belgium, where Forbidden Temple stands shoulder to shoulder with bands such as Moenen Of Xezbeth, Perverted Ceremony, Gouffre, Phlegethon’s Majesty, and Crypts Of Wallachia, but also in the bigger scheme of things, this particular sound connects with bands such as Haan Valar, Cult Of Eibon, Moonfall, Funerealm Gloom, Oath Of Malignancy, Ceremonial Torture, Black Edifice, Under The Moon, and Cursed Excruciation.
Although I have nothing against the Norwegian or lo-fi variants of Black Metal, I can only applaud the rising popularity of this mysterious and mystical form of Black Metal. And with ‘In The Rotting Grave’, Forbidden Temple proves that it still deserves its place at the top of the genre.
