Behölder â In the Temple of the Tyrant Review
By Steel Druhm
When members of various obscure power and prog metal bands like Shadowdance and Chaos Frame managed to recruit Judicatorâs John Yelland for an epic doom project heavily inspired by Dungeons & Dragons, Steel was unable to resist hearing the results. So he took a flyer on Behölder and their In the Temple of the Tyrant debut and hoped for good doom things. Would it be utter cheese and need a high-level necromancer to save it? Would it be a rousing, sword-swinging platter or Iron Age heroics? As it turns out, In the Temple of the Tyrant is more like Crypt Sermon mixed with a modest dose of Hammerfall-esque power and seasoned with the muscular machismo of Eternal Champion. Does the sound of that meaty broth get your sword rising? Me too. Letâs fight!
The best way to open an epic doom album is with some hefty epic doom, and Behölder does just that with âA Pale Blood Sky.â Itâs very Crypt Sermon / Candlemassive, with big, crunchy doom riffs and slick melodic trills. Yellenâs powerful and enthusiastic delivery rounds out the doom enchilada excellently, taking us on a trip through dark crypts and creepy vistas. Itâs the kind of doom I eat up like candied bacon, and I love this tune muchly. Itâs powerful, but oh so accessible and entertaining, and shows that these cats know their chosen genre very well. âEyes of the Deepâ is another killer, with a strong Eternal Champion vibe. Tomi Joutsen of Amorphis shows up on the back end to drop immense death roars that take the song to the next level and everything is slick and compelling as fook. âFor Those Who Fellâ is like the glorious Hammerfall power ballads of old (their first 2 albums) and it sucks you in and keeps you hanging on. âDraconian (Slave or Master)â is a ridiculously hooky cut elevated to glorious heights by Yellanâs epical vocals. You will not forget the chorus, and it will haunt you onto death. This one has Song oâ the Year written all over it, folks.
While the highs on the album are very high, there are a few tracks that canât scale the same summit. âDungeon Masterâ is just okay and overly tongue-in-cheek as it takes the perspective of those master nerd game planners a bit too seriously. It doesnât vibe well with the huge epic doom flavor of the surrounding tracks and takes you out of that headspace. Closer âI Magusâ is also a bit underbaked. Itâs plenty riffy with a Sanctuary / Nevermore vibe, but it never gets rolling into high gear. Likewise, âSummoned & Boundâ trods on the path to greatness laid out by classic Candlemass, but it never completes the journey, becoming somewhat unsatisfying by the end. No song is completely unworthy, however, and as a cohesive album, this thing is a whole lotta fun from start to finish.
John Yellan is the star of the show here, with his vocals elevating the material several notches. On the best stuff, he takes it to the house, bringing poise and grace to the doom show. He manages to keep his performance restrained and doesnât overdo things, nor does he rely on high-pitched wailing to emphasize the dramatic bits. He gives the songs just the right amount of power and poise and does a great job throughout. Founder and band mastermind Carlos Alvarez, along with Matt Hodson of Chaos Frame, bring a healthy selection of large doom leads and stirring solos, while dabbling in plenty of traditional and power metal spaces along the way. I like their work best when they stay in the Candlemass / Crypt Sermon vein, but I canât argue one bit with departures like âDraconian (Slave or Master).â
Behölder have chops across the board, and when their writing comes together, you get great tunes full of nods to genre masters. If the writing was a touch more consistent, this would be my first 4.0 of 2025, but In the Temple of the Tyrant falls a bit short of those lofty heights. Yet there are several songs that could end up as my Song oâ the Year, and thatâs saying something about the strength of this googly-eyed floating beast. Roll the dice, hear this, find the moments that thrill your inner warrior. Swords up for Behölder!
Rating: 3.5/5.0
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Black Lion
Websites: beholderblacklion.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/beholderdoom
Releases Worldwide: April 25th, 2025
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