It might seem like a ludicrous notion, but a band can in fact sound completely unique without necessarily doing anything original. Some of the best restaurants might not have one original dish on the menu, but a good chef can twist an old dish into a masterpiece and make that spot a favorite. Anyone can make bananas foster, and anyone can make bananas foster suck. It takes personality and flair to not turn that skillet into a mushy, rummy mess. Norway’s Magister Templi can flambé with the best of ‘em, and boy oh boy can they make some bananas foster.
The formula they employ on debut full length Lucifer Leviathan Logos begins with equal parts NWOBHM-ish riffage and 80s doom, like some crossroads meeting of Pentagram and Angel Witch with a touch extra on the “occult” scale and even a smidgen of Manowar bombast. As with that dessert of desserts, this musical recipe has been attempted and executed countless times since its original conjuration, with widely varying results, but here is given an all too rare freshness. All too rare, and quite welcome to these ears.
This uniqueness, this personality, begins and is driven by vocalist Abraxas d’Ruckus. Like a combination of Bobby Liebling’s gloomy allure and Messiah Marcolin’s operatic talents, d’Ruckus carries these tunes. The dude just gets the small things. From his near-Sinatra phrasing skills (the vocal verse feature in “Leviathan”) to the extra attention paid to enunciation (just try to make the chorus of “Innsmouth Look” sound cooler than he does), the guy never wastes an opportunity to shine. To use another food analogy, he’s like an industrial pressure cooker of charisma, never at risk of overloading and exploding, and always resulting in a fall-off-the-bone goodness.
But despite d’Ruckus’ dominating skills, his are not the only talents on display, nor are they Magister Templi’s only selling point. He is merely the main cog in their chemistry, as the rest of the band more than holds their own. Riffs bring plenty of gallop, some machine gunnery, foreboding doom, and the occasional Maidenesque harmony (especially in the hooks). The rhythm section supports it all deftly, and Grimmdun’s adept, understated drumming is particularly professional. However, we wouldn’t be singing the praises of these Norsemen if their songs didn’t swing, and these seven, solidly-constructed jams pack not only thunder, but a surprising amount of variety within just 37 minutes. Opener “Master of the Temple” builds to a pummeling falsetto break, “Lucifer” offers a Dio-era Sabbathian sense of melody, and “Logos” adds a touch of thrash. Not everything is 100 percent successful – closer “VITRIOL” is an odd, partially acoustic build that is fun but easily feels a tad misplaced – but there’s zero denying the overall mettle of the Magister metal, and even with that odd ending it’s a compact, well-designed whole.
What makes Magister Templi special, and by default also Lucifer Leviathan Logos, is how natural and right the music feels, a facet which is undoubtedly a result of the individuals. This band, and particularly their vocalist, succeeds because they are being themselves, and who they are is a group of charismatic, denim-n-leather, doom-obsessed acolytes of the original metal choich. Retro/trad material works best when it’s honest and effortless, and in listening to Lucifer Leviathan Logos, that’s exactly how it sounds. Effortless, and just plain kickass.
Light that skillet.
