Get Prep’d #3 – Tertiary Education: Tempel, The Armed, & CZARFACE

TEMPEL

The Moon Lit Our Path – out on June 16th through Prosthetic Records

I’m a pretty fussy bastard. One of my personality traits is being able to find the negative amongst the positive(s). When the Arizona two-piece Tempel (originally Temple) self-released On The Steps Of The Temple I couldn’t find a single aspect to dislike; strange. Must be that the album won’t stand the test of time then. Wrong! Years later, this amazing collection of dense instrumental brilliance still weaves it’s way through my mind and has amassed an unprecedented number of replays on my stereo, it is as close to a perfect debut from a metal band that I can think of (please let me know of any other flawless debuts in the comments). Start your climb here and read on.

Blackened doom, psych, thrash, groove, atmospheric and just all-round heavy, the duo showed they can combine it all. Superb in composition and structured to convey the exact atmosphere outlined in the titles, the organic nature of Tempel’s music will take you on the journey up the mountain. The combination of the excellent drum work and heavy riffs cohere, always providing something interesting to pick up on. While we’re on the topic of riffs… the riffs displayed encompass everything I enjoy about metal; flowing clean passages, stomping grooves, hostile tremolo chord progressions, breakouts of thrash and succinct leads, all condensed into one intricately flowing masterpiece.

While the album had a sense of progression, each track could be absorbed on its own without seeming incomplete of the majesty which shrouded this release. If you haven’t already picked up on this, I think you should listen to (and buy!) Tempel’s debut. Prosthetic Records agreed and picked up the band prior to the release of their second album, The Moon Lit Our Path, which will be released on June 16^th. So far we have been graced with the serene new cover artwork and the first track of the upcoming album, titled Carvings In The Door, which I will place below so you can revel within. I’ve all but made it clear that I found their first release to be perfect and Tempel have stated that this next release will outshine the debut. I for one cannot wait for this album to do exactly that. — Lacertilian

Detroit, Michigan’s punk/hardcore outfit The Armed have been consistently putting out releases for the past 5 years and they just recently released the details for their upcoming album Untitled. The effort features Baptists drummer extraordinaire Nick Yacyschyn laying waste to the drum kit while Kurt Ballou (Converge) handled the recording duties at God City Studios. That combination of talent should have you foaming at the mouth in anticipation. The Armed are no strangers to having good drummers on their recordings, having Chris Pennie (ex – Dillinger Escape Plan) lend his talents to several of their previous releases. Fans of the aggressive side of Dillinger Escape Plan will likely enjoy The Armed’s relentless brand of frantic hardcore. To gear yourself up for this album check out the new video for Forever Scum below. You vinyl afficionados may get upset at the unfortunate outcome that this record player received but just know it was all for the cause of creating this simple yet elegant visual of The Armed’s sound. If the video is not enough to hold you over, head over to Bandcamp and check out their discography, which is very much along the lines of this new song. You can also stab here and get a brief sampling of some drum tracking which showcases Nick’s tremendous talents. — Ron Deuce

CZARFACE

Every Hero Needs A Villain – out on June 16th through Brick Records

Back in 2013, 7L & Esoteric teamed up with Inspectah Deck, along with a bunch of well known guests, including Ghostface Killah, Vinnie Paz, Cappadonna, Action Bronson and DJ Premier to produce an interesting record loosely built around a concept, titled CZARFACE. The album was a refreshing mix which contained well-produced beats and cohesive flow coupled with an overlying theme of comic-book heroes and artwork. 7L & Esoteric had worked with Deck previously on some tracks back either side of the year 2000, with 7L providing the production and turntable skills and Esoteric laying down his diverse yet accurately honed rhymes. Anyone who has kept up to date with Inpsectah Deck’s recent work would know he has kept his sword sharp through penning creative verses and performing with style, helping maintain his relevance to the scene, which is more than what can be said for many of his generation’s contemporaries and even fellow swordsmen.

If you’re looking for something to tide you over until RTJ3 or to make up for the fairly disappointing ‘final’ Wu-Tang Clan album, then CZARFACE’s second outing will almost certainly do the trick, with guests such as MF Doom, Method Man (see Nightcrawler below), R.A. The Rugged Man, JuJu (The Beatnuts), Large Professor and this lizard’s fave GZA. Every Hero Needs A Villain drops June 16^th, the following pre-release track should be enough to pique your interest if you are that way inclined, but I would definitely recommend checking out the entire first album in preparation. I still let it play through if it comes up because it’s just that good. — Lacertilian