TEMPLE

Unknown German band from Cologne, featuring Birth Control's Zeus B. Held on keyboards.The rest of Temple were singers Poseidon and Pauline Fund (she also played the tambourine), Heinz Kramer and Rolf Foeller (brother of Birth Control's bassist Peter Foeller) on guitars, Joachim Weiss on bass and Otto Bretnacher on drums.They reputedly released only one LP on the small Pyramid label in 1976, reissued on CD later by the British label Psi-Fi.

Temple may failed to make an impact back at the time, but they were certainly among the original bands of the period, that's because they combined the stylistical power of Kraut Rock with a certain Gothic atmosphere, which was later to be found in acts such as FIELDS OF THE NEPHILIM or DEAD CAN DANCE, the dark grooves and emphatic lead vocals prevail in the album along with Heavy/Kraut Rock dynamics and some type of ELOY spacious, Teutonic vibes.Most of the material is guitar-driven with some organ washes by Held, their sound ranges from THE DOORS' like old-fashioned neurotic rhythms and vocals to an explosive Kraut Rock with raw guitars and a solid rhythm section.Their material included also some DZYAN type of storytelling with Pauline Fund on narration and some more symphonic soundscapes with Held coming in front armed with his Mellotron.The long ''Crazy hat/Kingdom Of Gabriel'' combines both sides of the band, the Teutonic/Kraut Rock touches with the scratching, rough guitar edges and the soft, ELOY-spiced textures, and the more groovy parts of THE DOORS and the pre-Gothic Rock darkness in an odd amalgam.

After this experience Zeus B. Held left both Temple (apparently they disbanded soon after the album was recorded) and Birth Control and started a solo career a couple of years later.

Genuine Kraut/Psych Rock with a gothic background.Energetic, psychedelic and fairly engaging.Warmly recommended.

Supposedly this was originally released in 1976 on the Pyramid label, then re-issued by the Psi-Fi label out of the UK in 1997. There is some controversy about that but I'll stick to the music. I instantly loved those mellow sections with the female vocals, while the male vocals and more energetic pieces would take some listens to finally appreciate. The male vocalist goes by the name Poseidon and his voice is manipulated a lot sounding distorted, but also it has an echo at times. Gothic sounding is the end result making this a unique sounding krautrock album to say the least.

The female vocalist is Paulina Fund from COZMIC CORRIDORS which was another Psi-Fi release and not without controversy as well. We also get keyboardist Zeus B. Held who played on some key BIRTH CONTROL albums and he knows his way around a studio lets put it that way. He offers up a lot of synths, and we get plenty of mellotron on those two double tracks which are the two longest ones on here.

That gothic vibe is the strongest on the first part of the first double track called "Leaves Are Falling/ Black Light". Love the latter half with that trippy sound and female vocals. The opener "Heathen" is a real rocker. So is "Ship On Fire" which screams HAWKWIND. The other double track "Crazy Hat/ Kingdom Of Gabriel" that opens and closes with those female vocals and a mellow sound with a few minutes of uptempo music in between with male vocals. I prefer the start and ending myself. Lots of atmosphere on "Age Of Ages" with spoken female words.

A low 4 stars but I really like this album despite it's issues.