Temple of Blood - Overlord (REMASTERED and greatly improved!) thrash/power/speed metal

Of course, now I’m hoping to hear Corpsegrinder do a guest vocal on the next ToB album.

Pethead wrote:Of course, now I’m hoping to hear Corpsegrinder do a guest vocal on the next ToB album.

That is ridiculous and far fetched!

Because he doesn't know how to yodel.

Temple of Blood wrote:

Pethead wrote:Of course, now I’m hoping to hear Corpsegrinder do a guest vocal on the next ToB album.

That is ridiculous and far fetched!

Because he doesn't know how to yodel.

Drat! But you’re right. I’ve never heard him yodel. You’d think he could with that amazing neck of his.

Temple of Blood wrote:If you like shred with great songs and unique vocals, you should try the first Onward album - "Evermoving".  A unique power metal band with a Shrapnel shredder on guitar - Toby Knapp.  It's a modern-day classic in my book.

I’m aware of Onward. 

I have friends that knew some pro musicians in the local Los Angeles area metal scene. Basically, we were acquaintances of Perry Greyson from the defunct band Destiny’s End (also featuring James Rivera from Helstar). So… we would go to a lot of local shows (within reasonable driving distance) and afterwards some of us would meet at Dennys. One time after a Forbidden show, the singer of Onward: Michael Grant (who was friends with some of the others, joined us at Dennys. He was very friendly and talkative. 

I personally don’t like that style of power metal. The kind with the Agent Steel style singing. I know they have a lot of talent, but it’s not my thing… we all just mingled at shows or after party hangouts. Those guys were also fans of melodic thrash like Flotsam and Jetsam and Forbidden. Another local band we knew was “Prototype”. They had the guitarist Kragen Lum who also played in Heathen and substituted for Gary Holt in Exodus. He’s another nice guy. 

Anyways… I just thought I’d share a bit since you mentioned Onward.

Pethead wrote:

Temple of Blood wrote:I've been recording vocals and I think it's coming along well.  Layering some backing vocals now.

I'm trying for a grittier, more aggressive approach on songs where I think it is fitting.  Not like Anselmo or Corpsegrinder or anything though.

Also decided to add a couple more guitar solos and I'm having a blast writing those.

Writing music is the most fulfilling thing to me.

Sounds awesome! Just don’t lose the melodic approach, because there are too few Christian thrash bands with melodic vocals.

I wouldn’t say lose the melodic vocals… just tweak them and expand on them. Think Russ Anderson from Forbidden. Or Eric AK from Flotsam.

TZ75 wrote:

I’m aware of Onward. 

I have friends that knew some pro musicians in the local Los Angeles area metal scene. Basically, we were acquaintances of Perry Greyson from the defunct band Destiny’s End (also featuring James Rivera from Helstar). So… we would go to a lot of local shows (within reasonable driving distance) and afterwards some of us would meet at Dennys. One time after a Forbidden show, the singer of Onward: Michael Grant (who was friends with some of the others, joined us at Dennys. He was very friendly and talkative. 

I personally don’t like that style of power metal. The kind with the Agent Steel style singing. I know they have a lot of talent, but it’s not my thing… we all just mingled at shows or after party hangouts. Those guys were also fans of melodic thrash like Flotsam and Jetsam and Forbidden. Another local band we knew was “Prototype”. They had the guitarist Kragen Lum who also played in Heathen and substituted for Gary Holt in Exodus. He’s another nice guy. 

Anyways… I just thought I’d share a bit since you mentioned Onward.

Thanks for the info.

I personally think these vocals sound nothing like Agent Steel and the way he writes his lines and harmonizes them is completely unique.  Michael Grant doesn't even sing head voice or falsetto at all on anything he ever recorded.

I saw Destiny's End play live years ago.  I also know some guys who run around in those circles.

Temple of Blood wrote:I've been recording vocals and I think it's coming along well.  Layering some backing vocals now.

I'm trying for a grittier, more aggressive approach on songs where I think it is fitting.  Not like Anselmo or Corpsegrinder or anything though.

Also decided to add a couple more guitar solos and I'm having a blast writing those.

Writing music is the most fulfilling thing to me.

I love this part of the process as well! Have fun, and we're looking forward to hearing it soon!

I learned alot about recording videos on the album that I just finished. Mostly how much I suck at it; but also how what I heard in my head was different than what I heard back in the monitors. And so I had to change my singing to match that. Kudos to you for working on getting the perfect vocal style for your songs.

Question about the solos? Do you write the solos for your lead guitarist, and then have him learn them? Or are these solos for you to play?

Temple of Blood wrote:

TZ75 wrote:

I’m aware of Onward. 

I have friends that knew some pro musicians in the local Los Angeles area metal scene. Basically, we were acquaintances of Perry Greyson from the defunct band Destiny’s End (also featuring James Rivera from Helstar). So… we would go to a lot of local shows (within reasonable driving distance) and afterwards some of us would meet at Dennys. One time after a Forbidden show, the singer of Onward: Michael Grant (who was friends with some of the others, joined us at Dennys. He was very friendly and talkative. 

I personally don’t like that style of power metal. The kind with the Agent Steel style singing. I know they have a lot of talent, but it’s not my thing… we all just mingled at shows or after party hangouts. Those guys were also fans of melodic thrash like Flotsam and Jetsam and Forbidden. Another local band we knew was “Prototype”. They had the guitarist Kragen Lum who also played in Heathen and substituted for Gary Holt in Exodus. He’s another nice guy. 

Anyways… I just thought I’d share a bit since you mentioned Onward.

Thanks for the info.

I personally think these vocals sound nothing like Agent Steel and the way he writes his lines and harmonizes them is completely unique.  Michael Grant doesn't even sing head voice or falsetto at all on anything he ever recorded.

I saw Destiny's End play live years ago.  I also know some guys who run around in those circles.

He did sing operatic, and I’m very picky about that stuff.

Sevenoneself wrote:

I love this part of the process as well! Have fun, and we're looking forward to hearing it soon!

I learned alot about recording videos on the album that I just finished. Mostly how much I suck at it; but also how what I heard in my head was different than what I heard back in the monitors. And so I had to change my singing to match that. Kudos to you for working on getting the perfect vocal style for your songs.

Question about the solos? Do you write the solos for your lead guitarist, and then have him learn them? Or are these solos for you to play?

Oh, I never write solos for the lead guitarist, but sometimes I'll tell them I like something or don't like something.  I'll sometimes give a general overview of the style, like what other guitarists it should generally sound like or what scale to use.

I have 2 songs with vocals in the can, and 2 more solos to write and record.  6 more songs to record vocals for.  It's getting closer!

Temple of Blood wrote:

Sevenoneself wrote:

I love this part of the process as well! Have fun, and we're looking forward to hearing it soon!

I learned alot about recording videos on the album that I just finished. Mostly how much I suck at it; but also how what I heard in my head was different than what I heard back in the monitors. And so I had to change my singing to match that. Kudos to you for working on getting the perfect vocal style for your songs.

Question about the solos? Do you write the solos for your lead guitarist, and then have him learn them? Or are these solos for you to play?

Oh, I never write solos for the lead guitarist, but sometimes I'll tell them I like something or don't like something.  I'll sometimes give a general overview of the style, like what other guitarists it should generally sound like or what scale to use.

I have 2 songs with vocals in the can, and 2 more solos to write and record.  6 more songs to record vocals for.  It's getting closer!

How much more time is needed for you to surpass the making of GNR’s Chinese Democracy album? 

Overlord came out in 2008, so it’s been 14 years. I think Chinese Democracy took 17. Pretty close indeed!


You know I’m just teasing. I’m sure you’re just glad people still want to hear your music after all this time. The general rule of thumb is that it’s not good to wait too many years between albums because some people move on or assume the band is defunct. I hope if you keep the band going, the next follow up isn’t a long time.

TZ75 wrote:Overlord came out in 2008, so it’s been 14 years. I think Chinese Democracy took 17. Pretty close indeed!

some people move on or assume the band is defunct. I hope if you keep the band going, the next follow up isn’t a long time.

I never planned on cranking out a follow-up quickly.  I noticed that no matter what I did on guitar or with my songwriting, everyone has an opinion on vocals.  So I decided to take some time to really focus on that.  I have taken lessons for 3 years many years ago, but I formed a cover band singing 70s/80s/90s songs and put the guitar down for a while.  This lasted about 2 years and was a great experience.  It made me a lot more skilled and even more confident.

I also got married and had 3 kids between Overlord and A Show of Force.

I had to get back into guitar well enough to play to a click, and I had to do it playing the most challenging material I've ever played.

I had to learn how to do home recording, for guitar and vocals.  This took more time than I expected.

I've had to replace the entire band excluding myself.  I'm been through maybe 12 musicians at least.  I've been through 3 drummers.  I waited to give multiple people time to track end eventually had to move on without them.

If I thought we wouldn't make great music or weren't improving at what we do, believe me I would not put all the work into it that I do and keep it going.  It would very easy to quit the band and the internet in general.

Anyone who is following us on Facebook or Twitter knows we're not gone.

I have about 30% of the next album written already.  Because of what I've learned since then, I'd like to get it out 12-18 months after ASOF.

I'm actually in favour of bands putting out less albums. I know it doesn't keep the money machine churning, and maybe it's not the best for marketing, but I think bands put out better albums when they wait 3-7 years between albums, for these reasons:

1) songs will have stood the test of time before being recorded,
2) the best arrangements will have been discovered,
3) lyrics will be optimized,
4) fans aren't so inundated with songs that they can't enjoy individual songs and albums any longer.

Keep trucking, you're going to do great.

Temple of Blood wrote:

TZ75 wrote:Overlord came out in 2008, so it’s been 14 years. I think Chinese Democracy took 17. Pretty close indeed!

some people move on or assume the band is defunct. I hope if you keep the band going, the next follow up isn’t a long time.

I never planned on cranking out a follow-up quickly.  I noticed that no matter what I did on guitar or with my songwriting, everyone has an opinion on vocals.  So I decided to take some time to really focus on that.  I have taken lessons for 3 years many years ago, but I formed a cover band singing 70s/80s/90s songs and put the guitar down for a while.  This lasted about 2 years and was a great experience.  It made me a lot more skilled and even more confident.

I also got married and had 3 kids between Overlord and A Show of Force.

I had to get back into guitar well enough to play to a click, and I had to do it playing the most challenging material I've ever played.

I had to learn how to do home recording, for guitar and vocals.  This took more time than I expected.

I've had to replace the entire band excluding myself.  I'm been through maybe 12 musicians at least.  I've been through 3 drummers.  I waited to give multiple people time to track end eventually had to move on without them.

If I thought we wouldn't make great music or weren't improving at what we do, believe me I would not put all the work into it that I do and keep it going.  It would very easy to quit the band and the internet in general.

Anyone who is following us on Facebook or Twitter knows we're not gone.

I have about 30% of the next album written already.  Because of what I've learned since then, I'd like to get it out 12-18 months after ASOF.

Thanks for the detailed reply. I did say I was teasing (because it was getting close to the time it took to make Chinese Democracy).

Sevenoneself wrote:I'm actually in favour of bands putting out less albums. I know it doesn't keep the money machine churning, and maybe it's not the best for marketing, but I think bands put out better albums when they wait 3-7 years between albums, for these reasons:

1) songs will have stood the test of time before being recorded,
2) the best arrangements will have been discovered,
3) lyrics will be optimized,
4) fans aren't so inundated with songs that they can't enjoy individual songs and albums any longer.

Keep trucking, you're going to do great.

Not necessarily… 

Many great thrash bands from the 80’s cranked them out and most are now considered classics. Like Metallica, Megadeth and Testament. It’s a thing called “momentum”. 

But I appreciate your point of view.

TZ75 wrote:

Sevenoneself wrote:I'm actually in favour of bands putting out less albums. I know it doesn't keep the money machine churning, and maybe it's not the best for marketing, but I think bands put out better albums when they wait 3-7 years between albums, for these reasons:

1) songs will have stood the test of time before being recorded,
2) the best arrangements will have been discovered,
3) lyrics will be optimized,
4) fans aren't so inundated with songs that they can't enjoy individual songs and albums any longer.

Keep trucking, you're going to do great.

Not necessarily… 

Many great thrash bands from the 80’s cranked them out and most are now considered classics. Like Metallica, Megadeth and Testament. It’s a thing called “momentum”. 

But I appreciate your point of view.

I hear ya, TZ75!! Momentum is a powerful thing, and it's not to be discredited.

I still hold to my point of view (and believe I can defend it!), but it is worth noting that there are also good reasons for putting out as many albums as possible.

Sevenoneself wrote:I'm actually in favour of bands putting out less albums. I know it doesn't keep the money machine churning, and maybe it's not the best for marketing, but I think bands put out better albums when they wait 3-7 years between albums, for these reasons:

1) songs will have stood the test of time before being recorded,
2) the best arrangements will have been discovered,
3) lyrics will be optimized,
4) fans aren't so inundated with songs that they can't enjoy individual songs and albums any longer.

Keep trucking, you're going to do great.

I think it all depends on the quality of the material.

Some bands in the 60s/70s were able to put out multiple albums a year and they were mostly great (The Beatles, Judas Priest, etc.)

If you need to take longer, I think you should do it (within reason).

If we had recorded all these songs in 2012 or so when most of them were written, some of the riffs wouldn't be as good because they've been tweaked/enhanced.  Also, I think the vocals wouldn't be quite as strong or varied.  They would be a lot closer in style to what was heard on Overlord.  Guitar solos wouldn't be as good either IMHO.

There's really no sense in rushing to put out another album that is worse than its predecessor and has the same old shortcomings that internet know-it-alls will complain about.

If folks aren't buying your album anyway, and are just streaming your music, you should just ignore whatever they say anyway as they mathematically don't count.

I have learned a TON between Overlord and A Show of Force and I don't see that there were too many ways to short-cut that learning process.

Thanks seven for the encouragement!

Temple of Blood wrote:

Sevenoneself wrote:I'm actually in favour of bands putting out less albums. I know it doesn't keep the money machine churning, and maybe it's not the best for marketing, but I think bands put out better albums when they wait 3-7 years between albums, for these reasons:

1) songs will have stood the test of time before being recorded,
2) the best arrangements will have been discovered,
3) lyrics will be optimized,
4) fans aren't so inundated with songs that they can't enjoy individual songs and albums any longer.

Keep trucking, you're going to do great.

I think it all depends on the quality of the material.

Some bands in the 60s/70s were able to put out multiple albums a year and they were mostly great (The Beatles, Judas Priest, etc.)

If you need to take longer, I think you should do it (within reason).

If we had recorded all these songs in 2012 or so when most of them were written, some of the riffs wouldn't be as good because they've been tweaked/enhanced.  Also, I think the vocals wouldn't be quite as strong or varied.  They would be a lot closer in style to what was heard on Overlord.  Guitar solos wouldn't be as good either IMHO.

There's really no sense in rushing to put out another album that is worse than its predecessor and has the same old shortcomings that internet know-it-alls will complain about.

If folks aren't buying your album anyway, and are just streaming your music, you should just ignore whatever they say anyway as they mathematically don't count.

I have learned a TON between Overlord and A Show of Force and I don't see that there were too many ways to short-cut that learning process.

Thanks seven for the encouragement!

There was definitely a leap in quality between Prepare and Overlord (although I loved Prepare, as well). So I can't wait to hear the leaps on A Show of Force!

TZ75 wrote:

Thanks for the detailed reply. I did say I was teasing (because it was getting close to the time it took to make Chinese Democracy).

The story of Chinese Democracy is a fascinating one.

The "band" at that point was Axl calling all the shots but not showing up to do the work he was supposed to do.

It was a band in search of direction and identity.  They were letting anyone, even ridiculous characters like Buckethead write music.

It's highly unlikely that GNR fans who bought their previous albums in droves wanted a NIN-inspired techno-rock album.

Temple of Blood didn't have those problems.  I've always known what I want to do and I write almost all of the music as well as sing.  I wasn't trying to throw money at people/producers to write songs for me.

The Chinese Democracy story is one of a "band" in name only (because the average knucklehead rock fan thinks singer=band) who can't deliver on what the brand actually stood for because most all the actual songwriters had quit.

Not necessarily… 

Many great thrash bands from the 80’s cranked them out and most are now considered classics. Like Metallica, Megadeth and Testament. It’s a thing called “momentum”. 

But I appreciate your point of view.

Metallica were the slowest to release albums of any thrash band, after their first 2.  I imagine that is mostly due to the fact that they had the best touring opportunities.  Their albums were also the best ones.

Testament have been criticized by many, including the band themselves, for rushing through making their albums just so they could hop on a big tour.  I think a lot of those songs on those albums were not that great, and that their debut was their best album (many songs on there were written years before the recording).

Megadeth, and Dave Mustaine in particular, are really inspirational to me.  If you look at their first shows they ever played, back in 1984 .... most of the material for their first 3 1/2 albums was already written!  Some of it was left over from his band Panic, some were riffs that Metallica didn't steal, and some song titles were different but most of it was there before the first show.  That in and of itself isn't that amazing but the quality of the material makes this something to aspire to.  That's why Mustaine is the best I think, and is one of my very favorite songwriters.  They probably could've released albums even quicker if it wasn't for drugs, rehab, and lineup changes!

Comparing what I'm doing to what those guys were doing is very different though.

1.  I work a full-time job
2.  I don't put my music ahead of my marriage and children
3.  I don't live with Mommy and Daddy or use people just to support my rock star lifestyle

Just looking at release dates doesn't tell the whole story.

There was definitely a leap in quality between Prepare and Overlord (although I loved Prepare, as well). So I can't wait to hear the leaps on A Show of Force!

Thanks PH!  I think you'll hear it!