Temple of Mystery

It takes a certain type of creature to swim against the most intense of tides and do what one wants in the face of open opposition and ridicule, perhaps one analogous to the animal often cited as sticking around after a worldwide nuclear conflict. But this is precisely what German thrashers Cockroach are, a resilient and sturdy beast that sought to stake out their place in the world as proponents of old school thrash metal at a time when it was among the most uncool forms of expression. Conceived at the downfall of their adopted style's original run in 1992, they can be counted among those few early forerunners of the New Wave of Thrash metal such as Witchburner and Cranium that would toil throughout the metal wilderness of the 1990s and make a respectable studio showing prior to the close of the decade, all the while eschewing the popular trends of groove and nu-metal in favor of a more frenetic and flashy approach.

Following a fairly rustic and bare bones independent debut in 1999's No Compromise (a fitting name given that it was among the most blatant throwbacks to the old thrash style prior to 2005), this Teutonic quartet went about honing and refining their sound to unleash a more ambitious follow up in Temple Of Mystery. While arguably by 2003 the beginnings of the thrash metal revival were under way with the debuts of Municipal Waste, Bywar and Angelus Apatrida's first EP coming out, this towering monument of riff happy heaviness was a tad ahead of its time in recapturing the old ways, hence its largely obscure status. The piercing ray of light emerging from the Ionian columns on the album's cover betrays an album that, in spite of often venturing into lyrically mundane territory, is molded after the more adventurous and complex take on the style that was regularly observed out of the Bay Area and German scenes from 1988 until just before this band was founded.

The name of this album's game is definitely heaviness, laying down the bone-crunching riff work with and gravely roughness that cuts through the air like a sword through flesh. While often featuring songs clocking in at over 6 minutes in length, it's also a no nonsense affair that largely avoids drawn out introductions and interludes in favor of laying down the poundage straight away. The opening crusher "Witch Trial" is a brilliant exercise in mixing the precision speed and power of late 80s Exodus with the vile ugliness of what Kreator and Destruction were doing at around the same time, especially when accounting for front man Frank Geue's growling rendition of Schmier's signature snarl. A similar story is told in more of a mid-paced, ...And Justice For All fashion on ferocious chuggers like "Phantom Of The Dawn" and "Personal War", but for the most part, this album is dominated by high impact auditory violence like "Tekilla", "Fallen Angel" and the somewhat punk-infused and autobiographical romp "Cockroach".

There is very little not to like about this album if the desired outcome is vicious, angry old school thrash metal after the fashion that was all the rage about 14 years before it came into existence. In addition to the highly effective riff assault and rock solid foundation provided by the rhythm section, and particularly drummer Alexander Reichelt's ability to reproduce Lars Urlich's signature sound while being a bit better at varying his approach, there is a good sense of melody at work here that is often expressed through incidental lead guitar harmony passages that parallel the anthemic elements of ...And Justice For All and Xentrix's For Whose Advantage. About the only weak patch is that both Urlich Mewes and Frank Geue sound a tad bit lazy when laying out their respective guitar solos, almost like an expressive Dan Spitz minus some of the technical chops. But otherwise, a solid early example of the proverbial fire that was being lit under the metal scene's ass as thrash metal was making its triumphant return to prominence.