Temples of Ruin

Necralant are an absolutely stellar underground black metal outfit from Worcester, Massachusetts. I've had the pleasure of seeing them live many times, and let me tell you, they never disappoint. The group is headed by Nolan Herald, an absolutely phenomenal songwriter, guitar player, and overall musician, with Marc Vray Jr. taking the vocal duties. Their first self-titled album took the underground by storm and showed just how much potential the group truly had. Now in 2021, Nolan is back again with another attempt at a black metal classic, and boy does he deliver this time.

The album opens up with possibly the group's best song yet, "Serpent's Return." The super melodic intro, frantic mid-section, and heavy-as-hell ending capped off with a beautiful acoustic closing perfectly encapsulates a great black metal track. The following tracks, "Cursed Visions" and "The Procession," continue much of the momentum from the first track, being great short bursts of black metal brilliance, with "Cursed Visions" being another highlight. The track's descending riffs and intense speed really stand out. "The Procession" may not be the highlight of the record but does its job well for being a sub-three-minute black metal track. It may not be the first track you think of when you think of this album, but it plays a solid role in the record and earns its spot.

"Dwell Within the Flesh," the albums longest cut, provides a good slab of fairly straightforward black metal that breaks up the pacing a little bit. A really solid effort that keeps the album moving along and feeling more dynamic. This track really shows the power of Vray Jr's vocals, where the doubled low/high screams provide a great sense of terror that sound truly incredible. Following this, "Diabolic Conception" opens up with a super eerie intro that really set the tone well for the song. The super-fast riffing sets in nicely and is a great thrasher of speed. The slower section crawls into place a tad awkwardly, but once it sets in, it highlights Nolan's guitar abilities with a really controlled but well-executed melodic lead. Overall, another great highlight.

The album even features an instrumental track, "As We Wander." While maybe not the flashiest or best track on the record, this track perfectly shows exactly what this album's overall strengths are: riffs. Nolan is full of them, and this song doesn't hold back in the slightest. Each riff flows perfectly and hits with a different level of intensity and brutality.

The album caps off with the title track, "Temples of Ruin." This quickly became one of my favorite tracks for the band as well. The key to this album truly is the bookends; it starts at an incredible pace and ends off on a high note. The opening slower riff stands as a "calm before the storm" before it erupts into possibly the best riff on the album. Vray Jr's vocals take much more precedent here, which feels fitting following an instrumental track, and he delivers with perfect execution. The song has plenty of high energy moments and slow-down moments to breath and ends off with an incredible amount of power courtesy of Nolan's impressive drumming. A fantastic experience.

The production was flawless for what the album wanted to do. It was clear and understandable (everything was audible), but it was raw enough that it felt true to black metal roots and was gritty enough to capture the true anger of the album. Marc Vray Jr, who also produced the album, truly did an impeccable job.

I've been around this group for a bit, and they continue to amaze me every step of the way. Even the live group, featuring musicians Pookie on bass, Icez on rhythm guitar, and Thalles on drums, all deliver on everything the music has to offer. The most mind-blowing part of all of this is how professional it sounds given Nolan was 16 when writing and recording this. Truly mind-blowing (and frustrating being a musician myself, how is this guy so freaking good). An absolutely great record. Definitely give this one a listen. It's certainly a top contender for album of the year.