Review: Temple Guard – Citadel in Flames
Vegan Metalcore Against the Crashing Tide of Fascism!
On my last review I opened with how punk and its many permutations—something I thoroughly enjoy in my adulthood—was always in the back but present in my musical journeys. In the case of metalcore (or metallic hardcore if you’re a nerd), it’s a genre I’ve had several run-ins with, but I wouldn’t consider myself a true fan; not that I don’t enjoy it, but I definitely prefer the old-school style of metalcore from the likes of Integrity, Earth Crisis and Code Orange. With that out of the way, in my many wanderings through Bandcamp and streaming, I came across today’s band I want to highlight.
Temple Guard is a UK vegan metalcore band that I came across back in 2023 when several mutuals shared their 2022 debut album, Spear of the Revenant. I was genuinely surprised by how they had that aggressive and raw style I like from the ’90s while sounding especially heavy with a modern feel and a killer aesthetic using medieval imagery. Their album covers and lyrics, despite feeling like they could apply to the horrors of the distant past, are still very relevant to the horrors we live today. Needless to say, I kept my ear to the ground for them and in 2026 they delivered their sophomore record, Citadel in Flames.
While Temple Guard’s sound is very much metalcore in that old-school vein where the focus is on blending the pummeling force of metal with the raw intensity of punk, one key aspect of their style is what type of metal they infuse in their sound. For this new album, there’s a clear blackened death metal influence that makes the music all the more aggressive; what keeps it firmly in the bounds of hardcore is primarily the vocals, but also the use of breakdowns, topical samples taken from news reports and documentaries, and massive riffs. The guitarwork and drumming will have these moments where it crosses into pure death metal and black metal territory but never does the music abandon its hardcore essence.
Furthermore, while this is a very intense and abrasive record, the band still finds ways to incorporate groove and atmosphere that’s completely in line with hardcore, and it all meshes very well and organically. A song like “A Vanguard Reforged” best exemplifies the various elements the band mixes with hardcore, and despite being short of 4 minutes, it feels longer and massive without feeling dull or monotonous. There’s even a guest vocalist: John Olley from xRepentancex (RIP), whose vocals are much more punk-leaning than Temple Guard’s, and yet, they both fit perfectly.
While the record is as enjoyable as their debut and in-between EP, and the band do an excellent job at avoiding the trap of monotony, the one, singular issue I’ve had was how the sophomore didn’t wow me as when I first heard them. Granted, a good first impression is hard to beat under any circumstances, and while I wouldn’t call this record a slump—far from it—I do hope that in the future this band will knock me off my feet again. As it stands, this is still some great, bad-ass and pummeling vegan metalcore I can easily recommend, and if you’re one that begrudgingly enjoys black or death metal, here’s a band that will scratch that itch without feeling like you’re compromising your beliefs or morals for the sake of a good riff, hardcore or otherwise.
3.5/5 Flaming Toilets ov Hell
Citadel in Flames is available now via Eco Defence Records and Bandcamp.
