Temple Of Void Interview

1. Can you tell us a little bit about the band for those that have never heard of you before?

Alex: Temple of Void is a new death/doom band from the dark recesses of Detroit. Brent and I have a long history of playing in bands together. This is number five, I believe. But for the rest of us, this is a brand new collaboration. Many things had to fall into place to make it happen. But we’ve emerged from the primordial ooze and we’ve already started constructing our own universe. The band has a lot of history playing in other successful local and national bands and we’ve brought all that knowledge to the table with us.

2. How would you describe your musical sound?

Alex: We’ve taken some molecules from the DNA of Paradise Lost, Katatonia, Autopsy, Entombed, Bolt Thrower, and My Dying Bride and mutated them into something unique. It’s our own chimaera. It seems to be equal parts old school death metal and doom. We have traces of dark melodies like Katatonia and Paradise Lost, but we’ve anchored the sound around thick, heavy, trem-picked death metal guitars. The bass was described as “titanic,” and I don’t think any of us have played with a drummer that pounds this fucking hard. Jason is a beast among men.

3. What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?

Alex: I hate to speak on Mike’s behalf but I know he pulls reference from film and literature. The man has a VHS collection that’s second to none. It provides a wealth of inspiration. He’s also very well read can pull from Robert E Howard to Oscar Wilde to Shakespeare.

4. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the bands name?

Alex: The band has a unilateral love for comics. Eric was inspired from a line in Alan Moore’s Watchmen. I believe Doc Manhattan was traversing time and space and made a comment about the void winds. That was the genesis for our name. We wanted something expansive and non-specific. A name that could grow with the band and not pigeonhole us into a certain scene or aesthetic. My bandmate in Hellmouth was the man to take it from its seed through to fruition. Jay was helping out Temple of Void since the beginning. And since everyone in the band is really interested in iconography and ancient history to one degree or another, it just fit us perfectly.

5. What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and how would you describe your stage performance?

Alex: Haven’t played our first show yet. But I can guarantee it’s going to be heavy as fuck. We’re bringin a lot of amplification! Heads will bang.

6. Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?

Alex: Our first show is July 18th. Anyone out of state wants to book us...get ahold of us!

We don’t expect to be playing out a ton. We’ll just take it slowly and whatever happens happens. Currently we’re working on some midwest and east coast dates for later in the year...

7.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or received any interest?

Alex: Archaic Sound is putting out the demo in digipac format with a bonus track. That’ll be later this year. Til You Fukkin Bleed has put out the demo on cassette. And we’ve signed with a couple labels to do a full-length CD and LP in early 2014. They haven’t announced that yet so we’re keeping details under wraps. But we’re very excited to be working with some good friends.

8.What is going on with the other musical projects these days?

Alex: I do Hellmouth. Same four guys for over five years now. We’re currently wrapping up a demo of new material to shop around to labels so we can do album III. We went into the same studio ToV did. It’s called Mount Doom, and it’s run by a great dude. Hellmouth has been keeping it under the radar, but something’s brewing. It’s still very much in keeping with what we do, but somehow we’ve made it more disgusting sounding. More blast beats, more grind, more black metal influence on this record.

Eric does Knife. They sound like a mix between Rollins Band, Danzig and Crowbar. He just put out their debut EP on his own label, Caveman in a Spaceship. They rule hard.

Mike does so many bands I honestly can’t keep track. His newest venture is a thrash band called Nuke. They’re finishing up their demo and from what I’ve heard it’s really freakin cool. He also does Acid Witch, which I’m sure you’re familiar with. They need no further explanation. He’s been doing a band for years called Failed. They’re hard to describe but I’ll go out on a limb and say AmRep style. He also does a cover band with some students of his and they just opened for Everlast this weekend. I’m sure he can die a happy and complete soul now.

Jason does a Latin American styled band called the Motorcity Troubadours. They’re very similar to the likes of Ibrahim Ferrer and Antonio Carlos Jobim. Very cool, talented stuff.

9.What direction do you see your music heading into on future releases?

Alex: We’re currently writing for our debut full-length. We’re about halfway done. As we continue to write we’ll constantly evolve as we play up our strengths and eschew any weaknesses. We spend a long time crafting our songs. They go through many forms until we’re totally satisfied. We have a vision for the band and we need to make sure that our output matches the vision, while still advancing it in the future. We won’t stagnate, but exactly how we’ll grow is anyone’s guess. I expect it will always be some cross between doom and death, but I don’t know which way the pendulum will swing the most.

10. What are some bands or musical styles that have influenced your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

Alex: What we listen to and what we play can be totally separate things. From a metal standpoint, I think the band is influenced by Paradise Lost, My Dying Bride and Anathema. We also look towards old Katatonia, Bolt Thrower, Neurosis and Entombed. We don’t look to emulate any particular band. We’re not interested in copying. We’re interested in what Temple of Void can create. It’s our own idiosyncratic sound and vision. Something unique. But still familiar in reference.

Personally, I’m listened to the hell out of Coliseum right now. Diggin the new Darkthrone, Vallenfyre, rockin some old Kraftwerk, Vastum, Goldie, Underworld, Necros Christos, Killing Joke, Jay-Z and Fudge Tunnel.

11.Outside of music what are some of your interests?

Alex: Motorcycles and fast cars. Film and literature. 

12.Any final words or thoughts before we wrap up this interview?

Alex: There’s a lot of good metal coming out of the Detroit area. Look out for the likes of Beast in the Field, Writhing, Konkeror, Isenblast, Perversion, Saprogenic, and Serpent Speech.