BEHÖLDER – In the Temple of the Tyrant (2025)
You rolled for a perception check and unearthed a new Epic Doom band from the USA! The Dungeons & Dragons reference is not by chance, as BEHÖLDER are clearly inspired by the famous tabletop game. The creature with the tentacles and the eyes in the cover art is a famous monster of that universe which is called Beholder, so now you now why the band was named like that. Enough with the games, we are here for the music. The members of the group are experienced with presence in the metal discography, having participated in various bands, with the most familiar to me being vocalist John Yelland of the great JUDICATOR, and Carlos Alvarez from his brief time in POWER THEORY.
The first time I encoutered their introductory single (‘A pale blue sky’ if I am not mistaken), I thought they would be leaning more into the Power Metal sound, but a very heavy one at that. Their music has strong Power influences still, but the songwritting is more distant from the elements that define that sub-genre, that’s why the Epic Doom characteristic is more accurate. Songs are mid tempo so do not come in expecting high speed. In order to compenstate for that, the album is very heavy thanks to the bulky sound of the guitars. Every riff hits harder than the attack of an enraged Barbarian, bringing forth a characteristic that I miss in a lot of newer releases.
The vocals are great and down to earth as John is avoiding unnecessary theatrics, he solely focuses on bringing the best attributes each song needs to shine, and succeeds at doing that. The melodies he sings also leave a lasting impression allowing each track to flow pleasantly despite their high duration (nothing lasts below five minutes). That is a huge win for the album, as never did I say that I liked a specific part of a composition. I liked them in their entirety, from the first verse till the final chorus.
Keeping the number of tracks at 8 was a great choise as well, as I find it to be the sweet spot. The record does not overstay its welcome, but it is long enough to saturate your appetite for some good Metal! I wanted to take my time with it in order for the music to sink in, with the verdict being that all eight songs are worth it, making “In the Temple of the Tyrant” a filler free entry. I have my favorites of course, I found them in ‘Into the underdark’ and ‘Draconian (Slave or master)’.
Does this debut album bring something new to the table? No, I do not believe its purpose is to reinvent anything, which is more than fine. Its freshness relies on the fact that it could have been released years ago and I say it in the most positive way possible, as it is impervious to many of the issues that plague the majority of modern releases. Long but not extreme durations, not relying on a catchy chorus to carry the song, a Heavy Metal record that is indeed Heavy but also refined and most importantly, no needless additions.
For better or worse, it is an album that shows its strength in numbers. If you listen to just a single song for the first time in order to get the gist of it, you will immediately understand that you are dealing with something good, but I do not believe you will be gathering your brain from the floor. As a matter of fact, till now I have not condemned any song to the cursed fate of the eternal repeat! The band has the winning hand though, as the good virtues you will surely identify in that first listen, extend and stay relevant for the whole tracklist. I do not listen to isolated songs because I want to experience the entire thing every time. In my books, this means that BEHÖLDER introduced themselves with a bang, creating a record that will not change your life, but ends up as one of the most complete and consistent quality works you can pick right now. It is an album I didn’t know I needed, but am very happy to have discovered, and it ends up getting my seal of recommendation without second thoughts.
85/100
Pavlos Pavlakis
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