Artist: Templum
Country: Brazil
Label: Galafoice
Formats: LP
Year: 2024
Brazil is pre-eminently the country with the greatest biodiversity, its immeasurably vast jungles harbouring more than 56,000 plant species, 1,700 bird species, 695 amphibian species, 578 mammal species and 651 reptile species. In addition, there is often discussion of an almost inexhaustible potential of undiscovered species, for example, it is estimated that 60% of the trees in the Amazon have yet to be discovered.
While maybe not entirely comparable in exact numbers, but I always feel that the Brazilian Extreme Metal scene is basically the same. The sheer number of bands coming out of the country continues to astound. I stopped believing that I “must have heard just about everything by now”. Templum, for instance, I honestly hadn’t heard them before stumbling upon them three months ago. Even though their demo material from 90’s had been reissued in 2016 and its members are active in the better known Mythological Cold Towers, Templum just never reached my ears.
Brazilian underground connoisseur Galafoice decided to put another spotlight on the demos. This time in a different format, not only physically, as ‘Era Das Trevas’ is presented on vinyl, but especially musically it is quite different from the previously released CD. The core of ‘Era Das Trevas’ is the band’s first ‘Pu Llawfen Ellkawi’-demo from 1995. In addition there are tracks that were never properly released before. They are said to be taken from a demo from 1998, but that lacks any information.
On a musical level, these early Templum recordings fall right into the zeitgeist. It is a true product of its time and place, heavily based on the moody Norwegian Black Metal tradition with a ditto raw production. But unlike many of its European peers, Templum definitely focusses not only on the solid riffs but on the overall atmosphere too. Consequently this first demo will most likely also appeal to fans of bands like Varathron or even the Blazebirth Hall acts. Although it was quite typical for Brazilian Raw Black Metal bands to mimic European bands, compared to many of their peers, Templum really had something of their own to offer.
The 1998 demo was probably never previously released or only distributed in very intimate circles, so arguably has the most value even to the owners of the aforementioned 2016 compilation CD. With a slight heavier yet not less raw sound it sounds distinctly different. At least on a cosmetically level, as the Darkthrone-based riffs and the band’s strong sense for atmosphere and song writing remains largely intact. The most significant difference can be found in the vocal department, the thunderous and bellowing vocals are quite an exception as opposed to the standard screechy vocals of Black Metal at the time. The comparison to Forest, as also endorsed by the label, is even more apparent on these three tracks. This demo’s outro, by the way, is the most fitting way to end; a truly majestic and raw instrumental of just around one minute and a half.
I might not have heard about Templum before, but in my own defence, it is very likely that most of the music, including the 2016-compilation, never left their native Brazil. And the question is whether this compilation LP will change much of that, but as with new discoveries in the Brazilian jungle, the exact location is also often kept secret so that it is trampled or disturbed, which is perhaps how you can see Templum a bit. Is that elitist? Yes, perhaps, but it also certainly adds to the charm that this music has and inextricably connects with the “Dark Age” of the 90’s.
