Hailing from the fertile womb of the Texas Extreme Metal underground, Austin’s Temple ov Ahriman unleash their debut full length entitled ‘Heretics of Consensual Reality’. Prior to this, a single and a split in ‘21 and ‘22, respectively, is all that comprised the Temple ov Ahriman back catalog. Though many one man bands choose to impulsively leverage their boundary free creativity and modern technology to release demo after demo, lone musician Thornicator seems to have by choice (or by force, not sure) taken their time crafting their 2026 effort.
‘Heretics of Consensual Reality’ clocks in at around 42 minutes, which is just about the length of a Black Metal album I’d be willing to give multiple listens to. It’s long enough to explore different musical dynamics but not too short to feel like there’s more to be desired. Songs like ‘SPQB’ and ‘Infernal Imperium’ explore more melodic and atmospheric themes, while ‘Wrath of Iblis’ and the album opener lean more into the darker and visceral realm.
From a critical perspective, I felt there was something left to be desired from the vocals. While the vocal approach is by no means “wrong”, it just feels flat after 40+ minutes of the same vocal pitch, even with some lower growls blended in. This is a minor gripe, as the riffs and warm yet raw production is the main attraction for me here.
Temple ov Ahriman’s Black Metal feels largely rooted in second wave Black Metal with hints of Finnish and even modern USBM sounds, but its ability to effectively weave throughout these to create an interesting and catchy Black Metal album is what will bring listeners back.
