"Condemnation" is the debut album of the Australian Black Metal band TEMPLE NIGHTSIDE. Under them drummer Basilysk and guitarist / bassist / vocalist / keyboardist IV have joined forces to deliver a very primitive kind of old school Black / Death / Doomish Metal with grandiose doses of mysticism. In their words it is ritualistic death metal necromancy.

The album consists of eight tracks. Seeing the titles of the album I would assume that this is a concept album but I have no lyrics in my hands and the vocals are undecipherable. The band utilizes lots of noises to create the proper atmosphere. This is clear from the opener of the album "Shrine of Summon (The Great Opposer)" and also by the two instrumental tracks "Pillar of Anicent Death (Commune 2.1)" and "Command of the Bones(Commune 2.2)". The songs share blast beats or Death and even Doom parts. The guitar is mainly scratching riffs unless any kind of fifths or other chords are used. The most interesting song in the album is "Ascension of Decaying Forms" as it creates an evil and malevolent atmosphere so vivid that if you close your eyes you might witness all those things ascending from the void (and it also has a very cool title). The album closes with "Miasma" a nine minute song which ends in similar way as the album began.

Overall "Condemnation" is considered an old school Black Metal in terms of production and feeling. Everything is merged and unprocessed (as far as I can guess) so do not expect anything but distorted sound with no clear distinction of the instruments as if all are sucked by the void. There is also a very certain kind of echo throughout the album that makes the record sounding very dark and distant as out of this world. I believe that this is the main concern of the band, to create a very specific kind of atmosphere and in that I think they have achieved perfection (almost).

TEMPLE NIGHTSIDE has delivered a very unique and mysterious debut album which is targeting a very limited audience. Unfortunately in this genre my knowledge is very limited to say if the band has really made a breakthrough but I really appreciated their musical direction and vision. Personally, I would not spend much time with a record like this but I am pretty sure that the fans of the genre would enjoy. If you are into this kind of music I strongly suggest this album and I would urge you to add two to three extra points to the final grade.