DisAgreement Online

In 2008 five rustic Norwegians decided to found Magister Templi. After two self released EPs, it is now finally time for their first longplayer Lucifer Leviathan Logos. Both the album title and the cover hint that we are in the presence of an occult rock band, and even though the band is not exactly riding this train, it is obvious that they have been marked by the hard rock of the late Seventies and the early Eighties.

The album contains seven tracks that follow more or less the same patterns and lie between four and six minutes. Right with the opener Master Of The Temple, it becomes obvious that Black Sabbath are a strong influence for the band. But it seems that Magister Templi have also studied their lessons concerning the early Mercyful Fate. The songs are quite gloomy and performed at a moderate pace. This is one of the band’s weak points. For one thing, they could act in a more varied way, and for another the songwriting isn’t always as mature as one might wish and therefore sounds a little bumpy at times. As the album isn’t too long, this doesn’t feel like too much of a shortcoming though. The NWOBHM touch is also quite strong, as can be testified by the high number of guitar solos. One of the band’s strong points are the vocals of Abraxas d’Ruckus who stays confident even during the higher parts, reminding a little of early Trouble and Candlemass. The band does surprise though with middle track Leviathan where they plain purebred doom which shows strong parallels to Solitude Aeturnus.

Magister Templi’s debut longplayer turns out to be a double-edged sword. The band definitely has a lot of strong points in favour of them, but they also have to work a little harder to get their ideas more accomplished. With a little more depth and detail, they have what it takes to follow this with a considerably stronger album.