Temple of the Morning Star Review

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Temple of the Morning Star ReviewNot alot gives me hope, but the fact that Mastodon are becoming metal legends does reveal a bit of optimism in my otherwise dreary outlook. Alot of more abrasive acts have recieved unlikely courtships from the mainstream...Opeth is an international sensation, Dimmu Borgir pulled off a mainstage gig at Ozzfest '04, and Lamb of God are being heralded as the "Saviours of American Metal" by bullhorn toters from coast to coast. But these success stories, in my metallic opinion, were all semi-logical. Mastodon's both critical and fan adoration is surprising because they have emerged from that crushingly heavy corner of extreme metal that leaves little room for sentimentality or linear song patterns...they are extreme; rooted in doom, death, and grind. But doom, death, and grind acts don't get signed to Warner Brothers and become Pitchfork Media favorites...Mastodon had to possess something else. Mastodon are where they are, if you ask me, because their stellar rhythm section is still adhering to that cerebral eerieness that they picked up when they were ordained as ministers of darkness under the heavy hand of THE REVEREND STEVE AUSTIN, mastermind of Today is the Day and the only musician I can think of who genuinely invokes pure earthbound evil.
Granted, Kelliher and Dailor of Mastodon were picked up by Austin for the Today is the Day album following "Temple of the Morningstar". But it is on this prior album that the misanthropic aesthetic of future TITD endeavors were solidified. It opens with it's namesake track, a flowing accoustic piece that is akin to a hymn beginning this evil sermon. The listener is indoctrinated by the repeated passage, "I can't be what you want me to be...I am DEAD". And with that the thesis statement is made; welcome to the Temple, prepare for the ritual ablutions and the living sacrifices. Prepare yourself for audio-terrorism.
Uber-explicit Satan references or gorey subject matter are staples of evil metal music. And while "Temple of the Morning Star" has traces of each it presents them in such a matter of fact and realist manner that it relegates the Satan and gore imagery of black and death metal to mere novelty. One cannot experience the evil inherent in Steve Austin in the detached manner that they might Cannibal Corpse or even, what the heck, Mayhem. No no...this is the evil that the evening news scratches the surface of; this is the evil that makes us lock our doors at night; this is the evil that exists in all of us. Steve Austin, with Today is the Day, brings painfully close the thoughts which we are all capable of making but from which we hide.
Explicit images of true sexual carnage; self-mutilation; self-hate; the desire for death; feelings of immense lonliness and alienation...this is the mantra espoused from the "Temple of the Morning Star". Lyrics hardly ever make me quiver beneath the blankets, but the shrieks of "Why hold back? Kill yourself, take the blade, do it clean" in "Kill Yourself" produce goosebumps on my metal-worn skin. Same goes for the unrepeatable (on Amazon) imagery produced on "Pinnacle" and "Hermaphrodite". Here we have Austin taking that quiet and unacknowledged voice in all of us that acknowledges evil and amplifying it to a point where we cannot ignore it.
The sound? Well, I have never been comfortable classifying TITD as a heavy metal band. To me they are audio-terror, a disturbance of one's inner-peace, an experiment in the effect sound can have on the equilibrium of the listener. Steve Austin uses negative aesthetics as his canvas. The drums, bass, and guitar are all metal; but they take a backseat to the overall picture which is one of pure unease -- guiding this flaming chariot are Steve Austin's tortured and mutilated vocals: the most powerful instrument on the record.
Now Mastodon is very much a metal band...but I feel they owe the composition of their sound more to Today is the Day than anyone. Even Kellier and Dailor's previous band Lethargy is not as close to their current sound as TITD is. This is because The Reverend Steve Austin reveals to those who are attentive what they might have thought impossible. The ability to use human psychology and play upon the emotions of the audience to truly define heavy. Go back and listen Mastodon's first recording the "Lifesblood" EP. The samples, the build-ups, the claustrophobia and fullness of the entire experience...it is almost like listening to a Today is the Day album from the same era.
So Satan bless Relapse Records for re-releasing this remastered version of this religiously required recording. The liner notes are a necessary counterpart to complete the verses "Temple of the Morning Star". Suddenly that realness of Steve Austin is, well, realer. With Today is the Day Austin brings the introvert into extroverted form. It is pure nihilism looking outward and not hesitating to reflect what it sees and feels in a brutally honest way. But what is truly horror-inducing about "Temple of the Morning Star" is that this is not the voice of a hermit staring disdainfully through his blinds and casting aspersions onto the world. Rather this is the voice of that nihilistic hermit that dwells in a realm of your soul that you'd rather forget was there. But we all possess it. The grand triumph of this album is that it makes the listener admit that evil dwells within each and every one of us. By suppressing that evil the "evils" of this world are allowed to permeate.
Steve Austin, you are what Maynard James Keenan wishes he could be.Temple of the Morning Star Overview

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