Philly psych-doom trio Heavy Temple prep debut LP (stream a track)
Heavy Temple are a trio from Philly who make psychedelic doom metal in the spirit of bands like Electric Wizard and Windhand, and — following a couple EPs, singles, and a split with Wolfblood — they’re finally set to release a full-length album, Lupi Amoris, on June 18 via Magnetic Eye Records (pre-order). According to the band’s new bio, “Lupi Amoris” is Latin for “Wolves of Love,” and the title “takes strong inspiration from Angela Carter’s story ‘The Company of Wolves.’ In it, the narrative of Red Riding Hood is flipped from a cautionary tale about the dangers of lust and desire, feelings young women were traditionally expected to stifle, to a story of female sexuality and power reclaimed.”
We’re premiering lead single “The Maiden,” which is as melodic, trippy, and heavy as you’d want a psych-doom band to be. It has a vintage sound, but Heavy Temple breathe new life into it. “This is the second of a pairing of songs, the first of which is written from a different perspective,” singer/bassist/founder High Priestess Nighthawk tells us. “It’s essentially a call and response between the two songs, a game of cat and mouse. Or wolf and maiden, if you will. This collection of songs is about meeting and subsequently falling in love with someone, so it seems appropriate to have both sides of the story. I wrote ‘The Maiden’ first, and the idea for complimentary lyrics came to me one day when I was listening to, oddly enough, ‘Indian Love Call’ by Slim Whitman. There’s no yodeling, maybe on the next record.”
Check out the song right here:
Tracklist
1. A Desert Through the Trees
2. The Wolf
3. The Maiden
4. Isabella (with Unrelenting Fangs)
5. Howling of a Prothalamion
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