Artist: Templum Supra
Country: Portugal
Label: Altare Productions
Formats: Demo Tape
Year: 2024
Although ‘Criptam Ostium’ is the debut demo tape from this new Portuguese Black Metal band Templum Supra, there is a bit of a background story to tell. Not all too long ago this band was called Ceremonial Energy and released a full-length LP through Altare Productions, ‘Perennial Morbid Rapture’. People who heard that LP could back up rumors that the person or persons behind Ceremonial Energy have links to Black Cilice. The music contains a similar energy and rawness to that of (the first recordings of) Black Cilice. What drove the name change, however, is not known to me, it is clear, however, that musically not particularly much has changed…
Fans of that Lo-Fi charm in the right Portuguese fashion can rest assured, ‘Criptam Ostium’ still bears the same rawness of the first Black Cilice demos, EP’s and full-length album. But while there indeed is an unmistakable resemblance to Black Cilice, the noisy and Lo-Fi guitar texture and overall production, even with the occasional droning dissonance (especially towards the end of the demo), makes it hard not to also draw a parallel to the early work of Candelabrum – which to me is the absolute pinnacle of Portuguese Raw Black Metal. Yet, regardless of who exactly is behind Templum Supra or what the musical inspiration is for the music on offer, it is clear that the individual(s) behind the band are no newbies to Lo-Fi Black Metal. Their sense for song writing is impeccable, because, don’t let anyone fool you: this is not just noise. The intensity is both terrifying and suffocating, the true connoisseur knows how to appreciate this and find the true beauty of this stellar piece of sonic horror.
