The Bands at Temples Festival 2014, 2015
Although setting up and organising a festival is crucial to its success, the real reason why all fans come to a concert are the performers. Temples has earned its reputation among the metal community precisely due to the bands that were kind enough to answer our invitation. To show our appreciation for the show they put on during our 2014 and 2015 event, we've created a list of the most influential groups that were present at that time.
Neurosis is one of the pioneers that spearheaded the creation of post-metal sub-genre. They started off 1985 as a hardcore punk band. They have since developed their unique sound by experimenting with sludge, hardcore and doom metal which started to become apparent in their second album 'The Word as Law' (1990). Neurosis is also known for their media visuals during their live performances.
Converge is a US metalcore band that became popular in the early 2000s with their 'Jane Doe' and 'You Fail Me' albums. They are one of the most influential groups in their genre. What is typical about their music is its aggressive tones and rhythmical complexity. Their frontman Jacob Bannon is famous for his emotional performances, and erratic movements live on stage.
Goatwhore has a fusion blackened death metal style which is popular with many fans. The themes of their songs are many, but their main focuses are Satanism, anti-Christianity, witchcraft and the occult, with Armageddon and the Holocaust becoming one of their more recent ones. Black metal and sludge have a great influence on their sound. Some of their best works are considered to be 'Constricting Rage of the Merciless', 'Blood for the Master' and 'Carving out the Eyes of God'.
Hailing from Sweden, Tribulation is a death metal band drawing inspiration from old school heavy metal, psychedelic and Gothic rock. Their music tends to have a calmer and more melodic nature compared to other bands and is based heavily on occult and supernatural themes. The band members put on a lot of heavy makeup during live concerts and include incense burning into their act.
Napalm Death is an English group that has paved the way for the grindcore genre. Their songs are rather short and fast-paced often with sociopolitical lyrics. They are best known in the worldwide metal community for their 1st album 'Scum'. Napalm Death is popular among its fans for their blastbeat drums, fast tempo, grinding bass and distorted toned-down guitar riffs. The band's song 'You suffer' is considered by Guinness as the shortest song ever.
Jucifer is a two-person American sludge metal band. Unlike most performers, the duo is always on tour since the mid-90s. Along with their nomadic way of life, Jucifer is also considered to be loud by metal fans. Their volume is further attested by the vast wall of amplifiers behind its guitar lead Gazelle Amber Valentine during concerts. Another interesting fact is that their 'Twenty Years Slaying Ears' tour included 32 countries.
Sunn O))) is known for its experimental and drone metal. Inspired by the band Earth, the group blends different styles and focuses on slow heavily distorted guitar and bass playing, a lack of melody or rhythm and low register. Sunn O))) is widely seen as a leader in its genre and its album 'White1' is has been dubbed by Q magazine as the 18th loudest of all times. When they perform in front of audiences Sunn O))) members put on robes and take advantage of resonant feedback to create a spiritual atmosphere to fit their macabre theme.
Carcass is a group from Liverpool, England and is among the pioneers of melodic death metal and grindcore. Their style has evolved over the decades, starting out as a goregrind band with the release of their demo tapes, then continuing with death metal which eventually turned into melodic death before their split up in 1996. Eventually, they reformed for a reunion tour in 2007 and continued to provide their fans with good music to this day. Despite their grim lyrics and disturbing album cover art, one of Carcass' recurring themes in their works is that of animal rights issues.
Scott Hull formed Pig Destroyer with the purpose of bringing grindcore metal back to its roots. The band's name was created based on the members' political moods at the time. Other than politics, the themes behind their lyrics focus on shock value aspects such as death, sex, insanity and horror. Pig Destroyer's “Prowler in the Yard” was the album that got the group recognition in the mainstream followed by other hits like 2004's “Terrifyer” and “Painter of dead girls”. For a long time, Pig Destroyer never had a bass player up until 2013 when they recruited John Jarvis.
After his original band, Eternal broke up Jus Oborn formed Electric Wizard which developed into a successful doom metal group. Their first eponymous album was rooted in classic doom metal. The second one however incorporated elements of sludge and stoner into the band's style. Despite the difficulties the band faced when Tim Bagshaw and Mark Greening left, their replacements Liz Buckingham and Rob Al-Issa helped the band recover during their tough times. From there on, Electric Wizard went on to write hits such as 'Witchcult Today' and 'Black Masses'. The themes of the occult and witchcraft are prevalent in all of their lyrics. Their stage performances are infamous for their erotic media backdrops.