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Cryonic Temple > Blood, Guts & Glory > Reviews
Cryonic Temple - Blood, Guts & Glory

Glory with a side order of blood and guts. - 91%

hells_unicorn, April 9th, 2012

Cryonics is the act of freezing the recently deceased in order to be thawed at some later date either for study or possible revival at a time when a cure is possible for a diseased state, and when considering the implications of this term on the often thought to be dead traditional metal scene in the mid 90s, a name like Cryonic Temple is quite fitting. Resurrected from the glorious past comes all of the trappings that made the speed of Judas Priest, the busy melodies of Iron Maiden, the anthem tilted grooves of Accept, and the keyboard rich density of a number of 80s Swedish acts that didn’t quite turn into hard rock the way Europe did is a finely tuned machine that slays like a trained soldier yet is as raucous and rebellious as a late teens leather-clad rebel.

Insofar as the brief yet impressive run that the classic era of this band (aka the era before Glen Metal and half of the band quit), the sophomore effort “Blood, Guts, Glory” is the obvious crème de la crème. Everything about this beast just screams simple and predictable as hell, yet can’t help but also scream near perfect effectiveness at what it attempts to accomplish, which is full out metal worshipping entertainment in roughly the same vain as their Swedish counterparts Hammerfall and Dream Evil. Where this band differs is that they are a bit more focused on the speed metal aspect of the style, to the point of channeling the high octane glory of Judas Priest’s “Ram It Down”, but as if 75% of the album was made up of the flashing brilliance of the title song. It’s a bit better produced and modernized compared to the parallel works done by Exciter, but otherwise comparisons could be made to the Canadian purveyors of all speed, all the time as well.

While perhaps a bit closer in time proximity to the debut album “Chapter I”, this album is a bit closer to that of “In Thy Power” in its overall demeanor, throwing out a somewhat more complex riff set built off of a combination of droning single note speed riffs and Running Wild meets early Helloween intricacies in the guitar work at certain key points, or sped up Iron Maiden riffs for those not well versed in the early German speed metal scene. Likewise, the keyboards have more of a dense atmospheric nature to them that is reminiscent of contemporary power metal titans Black Majesty, who’ve proved to have a greater longevity and loyalty to their core sound of late. The overall picture is something that is both celebratory in nature, yet also somewhat somber, as if a hero that is triumphant yet also innately aware of his own mortality.

But for any level of nuance that might be ascertained for an album in a style that is anything but, this band is basically very effective at a 2-dimensional approach to metal. The variety found on here is pretty well limited to those that blaze at full speed and those that take a slightly slower approach, something that was pretty en vogue circa 2003. Most of the truly memorable faster songs are contained within the 3-part “The Quest” series, with the most utterly unforgettable and catchy “The Midas Touch (Samurai)” being the leader of the pack, though mention should also be made of “Thunder And Lightning” for mixing things up a bit and delivering a solid and drawn out lead guitar display.

Like their better known German contemporaries Gamma Ray, this band has an uncanny tendency towards sounding a lot like “Metal Heart” era Accept when they try to take things a bit slower. And boy if there isn’t a 100% nod to the early German heavy metal gurus in “Long Live The Warriors”, right down to the low chanting background vocals and Glen Metal actually attempting to emulate Udo’s gravely tone when he barks out the low tone verses, though he always finds himself being just a bit too smooth and too close to Bruce Dickinson to completely impersonate the former. “Swords And Diamonds” is something of an odd one out in that it’s melodically close to an Accept sound, yet gallops like 1983 Iron Maiden (think “Sun And Steel”), yet it also proves to be the song that should’ve and would’ve been burning up the radio waves if any disc jockeys gave a damn about actually playing good music beyond the tired 60s and 70s rock classics that everyone’s heard a thousand times already.

If there is only one album to be had from these mad Swedes, this would be the one to get, though a good devotee to pomp and melody should put in the time busting rocks to get all 3 of their Glen Metal era releases. This is where the band distilled that combination of speed and hooks to its most potent level, resulting in a collection of songs that are unforgettable and not a single one of them skip-worthy. It’s a bit smoother than Primal Fear, a bit rougher than Hammerfall, but well within the realm of any and all who listen in similar circles, and definitely a treat for any traditional metal revivalist who only recently discovered the likes of White Wizzard and Battle Beast.

Glen Metal? - 81%

Empyreal, March 12th, 2007

Meet Cryonic Temple; another one of the good old proprietors of classic heavy/power metal. They play a very basic style of metal, with duelling guitars, aggressive riffs, and the soaring vocals of our dear vocalist, Glen Metal. That's right, this guy goes by the ever-charming moniker of Glen Metal while utilizing his pipes for this band's metallic exploits, and it really gives you an idea of what this band is like at the core. This is definetly some of the cheesiest Iron Maiden worship I've ever listened to, and it makes me proud to be a metalhead, because these songs kick ass.

The songs here are not innovative or progressive; just galloping exercises in crunchy, muscular Maidenesque power metal. Glen Metal's vocals are high pitched, but have a rougher edge to them that won't let you mistake him for a woman for one second on this disc. He reminds me slightly of Rawhead Rexx's vocalist. And the riffs are all good and solid, very fun due to the great production. The solos here are delightful as well, and these two guitarists make for a thoroughly enjoyable disc.

Most of the songs here are great, especially the soaring Iron Maiden anthem "Swords and Diamonds", my favorite track here and also one of the band's more popular songs. Great chorus, and we have some nice galloping riffs to start us off, recalling the glory days of the 80s when "The Trooper" and "Aces High" ruled the metal playground. "Thunder and Lightning" is a fast, melodic cracker with a dynamite chorus and some aggressive riffage to start things off, plus some very cool drum/guitar parts about halfway through it. "Long Live the Warriors" is a great song with some surprisingly dark vocals to kick things off followed by a midpaced "warrior" anthem that's a step above others I've heard. And "The Midas Touch (Samurai)" is an excellent old school 80s metal attack with a killer chorus that will never come out of your head. "Samurai! Samurai!"

I'd love to give this about ten points higher, but there are some flaws here. These songs all feel really long, and it's a problem with some of them. "Mercenaries of Metal" is a fine song, but it doesn't need to be 6 minutes long. Same story for "The Story of the Sword", which is a standard Cryonic Temple song, with some great guitar melodies, but it's a 5 minute track that feels like it lasts 10 minutes. They could've cropped these songs down a bit and had a much more enjoyable disc. This seems to be a pretty common problem for lots of bands of this ilk, Twisted Tower Dire included. I'd say Cryonic Temple could benefit from making a 40 minute disc instead of a 50 minute one, but it's just a minor gripe, as the songs are still enjoyable.

Overall this is a fine disc, though, worthy of a purchase. Cryonic Temple aren't re-inventing anything here, but when you've got as much energy and vigor as they do, who needs progression? Recommended to fans of Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Cage, Rawhead Rexx, and all other imitators of that style. This is just a solid 50 minutes of headbanging, singalong fun.

Blood, Guts and Just Give 'er! - 90%

Monstro_City, February 4th, 2005

There is absolutely no band that comes even close to being as cheesy as Manowar. Cryonic Temple is no exception! But they’re still as corny as hell. You know when a band is going to take a tacky approach to any Metal sub-genre when the singer is named Glen Metal. And while Cryonic Temple may not be widely celebrated or even acknowledged, they can still slay dragons with the best of ‘em!

I just can get enough of this “Slaying the beasts with the warriors of Metal at my sides and the gods and devils cheering us Metal brethren through the gates of the unbelievers!” Metal. Is there something wrong with me? In any event, Cryonic Temple is a fine group of talented musicians with a lot to offer. Firstly, what they have to offer is some of the most catchy and fun Power Metal songs I would assume anybody has heard in a long time. These songs being “Swords and Diamonds” and “The Mercenaries of Metal - The Quest Part One”. Both of these tracks are excellently performed with writing that is paralleled but still fucking killer. There are downsides to this band, but I won’t get into them until the later part of this review.

Glen Metal, which is only slightly more embarrassing than his real name, is a wonderful singer who not only suits his band perfectly, but has a smooth and high pitch that never tires. However, he occasionally requires back up vocals which is contributed by Cryonic Temple’s Keyboardist. Their Keyboardist doesn’t often give you any of his own melody, he seems to just reinforce the more basic elements (Vocals, Guitars, etc.) with the exception of the intro to the album “Morphine Dreams”. This intro is nothing special, or even important, but it was definitely needed with the way the first track took off the rest of the album!

Cryonic’s Guitars are very straight forward, and to the point. In fact, they have a very good rhythm Guitarist, he is constantly playing throughout every song with no breaks or rests and he never fumbles. Inversely, their 1st Guitarist (the one they rely on for melody) is orgasmic. Especially with those two unforgettable songs under their belts. He’s a decent soloist who solos for (more often than not) more than one minute in each song. Whether the solos are just one constant solo or broken up throughout the song, the time given to this will accumulate to about the aforementioned length!

The Bassist is just another element of the band that doesn’t receive its own spotlight, he’s just there to keep the rhythm, which he does. So I guess he’s a decent musician as well! Their Drummer, however, is also another highlight. Despite the fact that he looks like an Emokid, he is very good – his style is very formulaic, but he is relentless and uses doublekick very often. Also, he has a very technical sound to him, he doesn’t do too many fills but he again makes up for this with his Raymond Herrera-type approach.

The only downside I can really pinpoint is the fact that all the members of the band are fat fucks, which normally wouldn’t bother me. But when they wear that skintight leather, it’s just disgusting! No, I’ll be serious, one of the actual downsides is that Cryonic Temple will stick to one time signature and speed for a song and never change it. Therefore, sometimes songs will seem droning and constant which bores after a while. However, the main conclusion being that these guys are an excellent band, and if you don’t mind corny lyrics and a cheesy image, than they will please you greatly. If you have the luck of locating the special edition of the CD, just take a look at the music video on it. I have never laughed that hard before! Ever.