After having reviewed TEMPLE OF LIES'  last album "From Sand" over a year ago (and giving it a respectable eight out of ten), when I saw their latest offering "The Serial Killer Suite" come through, I jumped to snatch it up before someone else did. With the same smooth Groove/Stoner emergy to it that "From Sand" had, "The Serial Killer Suite" is as dark as the name deserves.

Wasting absolutely no time "Epic Doom" lives up to its name with a catchy opening riff and some great spoken vocals with just enough reverb to sound otherwordly and devilishly cool. Setting the theme for the rest of the album the way a good intro should, "Epic Doom" grabs your attention while letting you know exactly what ToL are all about. "Illusion of Choice" has a groovy rhythm section followed by a Hard Rock/Heavy Metal track sounding like a bit of classic METALLICA with a heavier tone made better because ToL can actually play more than the same two chords forever. One thing I particularly found fun was the final line of the song, "...every temple is a TEMPLE OF LIES!"; it really made me laugh to hear the band reference themself in such a fun way like this.

"Broken Mind" is harsh compared to the other tracks with a bit more of a Doom angle to it. "Modus Operandi" has a much more Groovy energy to it, bringing out the Stoner smoothness and rhythm making it the best track in my opinion. "Skin" introduces the double-kicks; kind of a rarity here that gives it a more definitive Heavy Metal quality that is by no means unwelcome. At risk of really causing some annoyance, "I Cut You Bleed" really reminds me of METALLICA's "Shoot Me Again" from their much-hated "St. Anger" album. Something about the vocals, tempo, and production choices for the first part of the song just really make it hard to shake the comparison. This is a good thing because I really enjoyed that album

"Sleep" is another fantastic standout; a catchy Hard Rock/Sludge Metal song and a catchy 90s hook. "Dark Energy" has a bleak, haunting spirit that creeps into your bones. Slow with subdued vocals growled into the rhythm so they bleed together into one sound. The next track really has "Teeth", cranking the dial back up after "Dark Energy", a real chugger. "Symbiotic Parasite"is a great track, one of my favorites from TEMPLE OF LIES and it really sums up all the things that TEMPLE OF LIES do right.

I think TEMPLE OF LIES really managed to outdo themselces with "The Serial Killer Suite"; when you really enjoy an album from a fairly new or unknown band, you are never sure if they will be able to keep that momentum. I tried not to get my hopes up with this one but "The Serial Killer Suite" not only measured up to "From Sand" but I would say it improved on the formula. With a tougher grittier sound and more savage intensity that sets it apart. There is also a link here for the official music video to "Skin" so feel free to check it out and worship at the TEMPLE OF LIES.