Review by Jeger on August 11, 2024.

The convoluted realm of Jewish Mysticism has been explored with much fervor by contemporary black metal bands as of late: the mythical world of Qliphoth and Kabbalah as so detailed by esoteric collectives such as Gevurah (Swe) and Serpent Noir (Gre) whose occult works directly correlate with their artistic ventures. The music created by these bands is music with a different kind of purpose; the worship of the Dark Gods and music as a conduit for Satanic energy, but the tales are oft disregarded - those forlorn romantic stories of Solomon, Herod, and their taboo delving into forbidden spiritual scapes. Now, much like how Rotting Christ romanticized Satanism with their early recordings, USA’s Spite are injecting some imaginative serum into olde Jerusalem with tales of the Antichrist and of the Satanic empire. 

Six years now since the rise of Antimoshiach, and now a new chapter in the Apocrypha of Salspan - the Antichrist incarnate and the furthering of Satan’s kingdom is set to unfold. Within Spite’s sophomore effort, The Third Temple, set to be released on September 27 via Invictus Productions, you’ll bear witness to the kingdom’s fall, absorb the magickal energy of ancient relics, and see the rise of His Infernal Empire during the height of religious vies for power over the Holy Land. Black metal executed with all the frantic urgency of Absu but enriched by highly visual, exotic, almost cinematic soundscapes similar to those of Lamp Of Murmuur and not without a little black & roll grime is The Third Temple - a labyrinthine journey of a record wherein nothing is as it seems or as you can predict it to be, only alongside diablerie compositions fraught with maniacal riffs, hyper rhythms and frenetic changes in tempo shall you run during this, Earth’s final divine conflict. And as you come under spells like the Beherit-worshipping 'Unblessed' and the Darkthrone-heralding 'Yahweh’s Vengeance', you’ll uncover a sliver of the under-appreciated influential majesty of contemporary USBM. 

The aesthetic and the vibe of The Third Temple like a scene in some lost classic era film where the protagonist walks into a vast chamber haunted with scantily clad vixens swaying beside monolithic columns to the sound of exotic rhythms, the smoke of ancient elixirs and the vintage Technicolor blessedly intoxicating the atmosphere - all in service to the Olde Gods and for the ecstasy of the flesh. Grab some popcorn, kids, because this is downright entertainment, a triumph! Eagerly awaiting every part as each suspenseful passage dominos into the next during the brilliant 'Desert Demons'; a racing tremolo and an intrepid blast-beat-driven compositional specimen. Dime-a-dozen are most black metal solo projects, but Salspan proving to be quite the Troubadour and most certainly a most adept musician here as he offers up genuine yet unique black metal produced with an artisan’s touch. 

The heartbeat of The Third Temple, the cadence of it as menacing as a late-night chase by an axe murderer and as unrelenting as a bare-handed death-beating. Definitely the top selling point with those unpredictably executed but unforgettable guitar riffs - a myriad of techniques so masterfully explored and executed - following in second. The energy writhes and tempests as would storm waves cresting violently upon stony shores during the album’s climactic titular cut: melodic tremolo riffs, cymbals-elaborated blast-beats, and more of those sinister martial beats that tease and torment so unforgivingly to close out what’s been an enthralling pre-Christ epic. All for Satan’s kingdom! As worldly sects foolishly vie for sway over their precious Holy Land, His Infernal Majesty prepares his Earthly reign. May all hails be unto Him and to the unsung glory of USBM. 

Rating: 9/10