Seattle heavy metal practitioners DARK MEDITATION will release their Polluted Temples full-length via Satanik Royalty Records January 28th, today unveiling the record’s first single, artwork, and preorders.
DARK MEDITATION
may hail from Seattle, but their sound is steeped in traditions
associated with other corners of the globe — England’s working-class
cities, frosty Scandinavian towns, Southern California meccas of the
‘80s. Or as the band puts it, DARK MEDITATION
sounds like the bastard amalgamation of Venom and Judas Priest fighting
it out on the Sunset Strip while Danzig and King Diamond cheer them on.
While such reference points may suggest a nexus of evil kitsch and
arena-level theatrics, the band’s debut album Polluted Temples
comes from a place of down-and-out urgency and punk ethics, adopting
the gloomy anthems and riff worship of heavy metal titans for their
sonic exorcisms rather than their rock n’ roll panache. It’s an album
that basks in big hooks, righteous guitar work, and an arena-level stomp
without compromising any grit, grime, or guts.
Comments the band of first single, “Haunt Of Fear,” now playing at Decibel Magazine, “‘Behold the Devil and He appears’… ‘Haunt Of Fear’ deals with the concept of creating a ‘devil’
or a problem you may fixate on to serve as an invented boogeyman, where
fear governs your mindset and instills hatred or provides a scapegoat
on why you can’t move forward with your life. Musically, it’s a
thunderous foundation of first-wave black metal riffage, wailing pinch
harmonics, and dueling guitar solos.”
Adds Decibel, “‘Haunt Of Fear’…
is more akin to Mercyful Fate musically, though without all the
falsetto wailing. In fact, if you want solid reference point, consider
Sweden’s In Solitude circa Sister,
as there’s a bit of goth mixed into the trad metal mix, as well. This
is a band that’s confident in the path it’s following, and it isn’t a
well-worn one. Polluted Temples, which is set for release January 28, actually gives us hope that 2022 has some upside beyond, ‘at least it’s not 2021.’”
Read more and view DARK MEDITATION’s “Haunt Of Fear” video at Decibel RIGHT HERE.
Polluted Temples will be released on LP and digital formats. Find physical preorders at THIS LOCATION and digital preorders HERE.
Polluted Temples Track Listing:
1. Horus Rising (Prelude)
2. Babalon.Money.Magick
3. Haunt Of Fear
4. Strange Caress (Of The Night)
5. Masters Coil
6. Desolation Days
7. The Howling Wild
8. Drink Of The Blade
9. Nocturnal Forever
10. Polluted Temples
Originally
conceived by vocalist A.D. Vick, guitarist Rane, and guitarist/synth
player Ian as a recording project intended to provide personal
catharsis, DARK MEDITATION
came to serve as a crucial artistic outlet for the entire five-piece
band — a salve during trying times. Along with compatriots JW Mullett
(bass), and Will Klintberg (drums), the founding trio poured four years
of blood, sweat, and equity into Polluted Temples, though the inner-band relationships go back even further. The members of DARK MEDITATION
all cut their teeth and crossed paths in various niches of the
underground, churning out visceral and vitriolic bangers in acts like
Emeralds (SEA), O.S.S., R.I.P., and Wildildlife. A punk ethos permeated
their earlier acts, and while they may have excised some of that
primitivism in their current project, the members of DARK MEDITATION have not skimped on the aural punishment and physical intensity.
Recorded
over two weeks during Seattle’s record-breaking heatwave of June 2021
by Matt Bayles (Mastodon, The Sword, Soundgarden), Polluted Temples
is the culmination of nearly half a decade’s worth of work. Not only
does it represent a triumph over recent adversities, it serves as a
negation of ingrained prejudices and social mores. “Most of our songs
deal with personal consequences of our actions and how it effects the
world around us,” Vick says of his lyrics. “But there is also the
looming specter of evangelical Christianity that I was brought up in and
trying to break away from the dogmatic concepts that were pushed upon
me in childhood.”
These
themes are displayed on songs like “Haunt Of Fear,” where Vick explores
the idea of the devil as an invented boogeyman used to govern by fear
and instill hatred in the populace while the band lays down a thunderous
foundation of first-wave black metal riffage, wailing pinch harmonics,
and dueling guitar solos. On a similar tip, the album’s title track—a
perfect blend of melodic gloom and pounding force bolstered by
synth-colored choruses and heroic guitars—uses the biblical metaphor of
the body as a temple to examine how physical pleasure-seeking turns
people inward and away from the rest of humanity. This kind of social
commentary manifests in the relentless chug of “Babalon.Money.Magick,”
where the increasing disparity between the haves and have-nots is
reflected Seattle’s new construction and tent cities. And it pops up
again in the mid-tempo death rock strut of “Desolation Days,” where
manipulative institutions and power-hungry people are brought to task
for valuing the dollar over human lives.
Ultimately, DARK MEDITATION’s
true power lies in their razor-sharp musicianship, addictive
songwriting, and fist-pumping instrumentation. It’s no small wonder that
the band’s early demos warranted an official release by Austria’s
boutique black metal label Doctrina Carnis before they’d even played
their first live show. Polluted Temples
marks a substantial progression in both performance and production, and
with that evolution comes the requisite support of a strong stateside
label. [Bio by Brian Cook]
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