Moss - Sub Templum

Few bands can transmit the occult like Moss. They douse their albums with thick, dark themes that ooze into bottomless pits of doom. Unlike their last full-length Cthonic Rites, Sub Templum tingles the nose unfamiliarly. This album doesn?t only bring genuine occult to life, it also smells more realistic. A cryptic cover of a coffin, burning sun, and barren temple introduces the darker nuances of the northern European holiday Walpurgis. Sub Templum highlights the time of year when forces between worlds waste away and life and death convene. Moss brings the nonexistent to life, capturing the horror within films like City of the Dead and Curse of the Claw. Moss wants to seduce, not just tell fictional stories. H.P. Lovecraft is on hiatus; occultist Aleister Crowley now takes the stand. This 2008 Rise Above Records release shows Moss transcending into a new supernatural dominion.

Gate III (excerpt)
Ritus (excerpt)

Moss matures with Sub Templum, introducing an approach that?s richer than on their previous releases. Olly Pearson exposes his voice, stripping away his sour scream at times to seep into harsh whispers and chants. In ?Ritus,? a soft organ hums along with Pearson?s speaking voice, setting the mood for the following 68 minutes. The denouement arrives with ?Gate III – The Devils of Outside Darkness.? As a continuation of ?Gate? from Cthonic Rites, the last track launches ritualistic echoes and leaching, low-end rumbles. Aside from themes of the macabre and occult, Moss refines the ultimate doom explosion. Although the formula isn?t varying, Moss breeds it with skill. A snarling chord strikes, dangling in rumbling fog. The bass drum begins to pound, sounding like dead hands furiously beating the ceiling of a coffin. As one, a new chord descends, drums unleash aggressively, and a piercing, gut-wrenching scream magnifies the detonation. This would destroy live.

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Rise Above