Angry Metal Guy<p><a href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/beholder-in-the-temple-of-the-tyrant-review/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Behölder – In the Temple of the Tyrant Review</a></p><p><i>By Steel Druhm</i></p><p>When members of various obscure power and prog metal bands like <strong>Shadowdance</strong> and <strong>Chaos Frame</strong> managed to recruit Judicator’s John Yelland for an epic doom project heavily inspired by <em>Dungeons & Dragons</em>, <span><strong>Steel</strong></span> was unable to resist hearing the results. So he took a flyer on <strong>Behölder</strong> and their <em>In the Temple of the Tyrant</em> debut and hoped for good doom things. Would it be utter cheese and need a high-level necromancer to save it? Would it be a rousing, sword-swinging platter or Iron Age heroics? As it turns out, <em>In the Temple of the Tyrant</em> is more like <strong>Crypt Sermon</strong> mixed with a modest dose of <strong>Hammerfall</strong>-esque power and seasoned with the muscular machismo of <strong>Eternal Champion</strong>. Does the sound of that meaty broth get your sword rising? Me too. Let’s fight!</p><p>The best way to open an epic doom album is with some hefty epic doom, and <strong>Behölder </strong>does just that with “A Pale Blood Sky.” It’s very <strong>Crypt Sermon </strong>/ <strong>Candlemass</strong>ive, with big, crunchy doom riffs and slick melodic trills. Yellen’s powerful and enthusiastic delivery rounds out the doom enchilada excellently, taking us on a trip through dark crypts and creepy vistas. It’s the kind of doom I eat up like candied bacon, and I love this tune muchly. It’s powerful, but oh so accessible and entertaining, and shows that these cats know their chosen genre very well. “Eyes of the Deep” is another killer, with a strong <strong>Eternal Champion</strong> vibe. Tomi Joutsen of <strong>Amorphis</strong> shows up on the back end to drop immense death roars that take the song to the next level and everything is slick and compelling as fook. “For Those Who Fell” is like the glorious <strong>Hammerfall</strong> power ballads of old (their first 2 albums) and it sucks you in and keeps you hanging on. “Draconian (Slave or Master)” is a ridiculously hooky cut elevated to glorious heights by Yellan’s epical vocals. You will not forget the chorus, and it will haunt you onto death. This one has Song o’ the Year written all over it, folks.</p><p>While the highs on the album are very high, there are a few tracks that can’t scale the same summit. “Dungeon Master” is just okay and overly tongue-in-cheek as it takes the perspective of those master nerd game planners a bit too seriously. It doesn’t vibe well with the huge epic doom flavor of the surrounding tracks and takes you out of that headspace. Closer “I Magus” is also a bit underbaked. It’s plenty riffy with a <strong>Sanctuary</strong> / <strong>Nevermore</strong> vibe, but it never gets rolling into high gear. Likewise, “Summoned & Bound” trods on the path to greatness laid out by classic <strong>Candlemass</strong>, but it never completes the journey, becoming somewhat unsatisfying by the end. No song is completely unworthy, however, and as a cohesive album, this thing is a whole lotta fun from start to finish.</p><p></p><p>John Yellan is the star of the show here, with his vocals elevating the material several notches. On the best stuff, he takes it to the house, bringing poise and grace to the doom show. He manages to keep his performance restrained and doesn’t overdo things, nor does he rely on high-pitched wailing to emphasize the dramatic bits. He gives the songs just the right amount of power and poise and does a great job throughout. Founder and band mastermind Carlos Alvarez, along with Matt Hodson of <strong>Chaos Frame</strong>, bring a healthy selection of large doom leads and stirring solos, while dabbling in plenty of traditional and power metal spaces along the way. I like their work best when they stay in the <strong>Candlemass</strong> / <strong>Crypt Sermon</strong> vein, but I can’t argue one bit with departures like “Draconian (Slave or Master).”</p><p><strong>Behölder </strong>have chops across the board, and when their writing comes together, you get great tunes full of nods to genre masters. If the writing was a touch more consistent, this would be my first 4.0 of 2025, but <em>In the Temple of the Tyrant</em> falls a bit short of those lofty heights. Yet there are several songs that could end up as my Song o’ the Year, and that’s saying something about the strength of this googly-eyed floating beast. Roll the dice, hear this, find the moments that thrill your inner warrior. Swords up for <strong>Behölder</strong>!</p><p></p> <p><strong>Rating:</strong> 3.5/5.0<br><strong>DR:</strong> 7 | <strong>Format Reviewed:</strong> 320 kbps mp3<br><strong>Label:</strong> <a href="https://blacklion.nu/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Black Lion</a><br><strong>Websites:</strong> <a href="https://beholderblacklion.bandcamp.com/album/in-the-temple-of-the-tyrant" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">beholderblacklion.bandcamp.com</a> | <a href="https://www.facebook.com/BeholderDoom/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">facebook.com/beholderdoom</a><br><strong>Releases Worldwide:</strong> April 25th, 2025</p><p></p><p><a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/2025/" target="_blank">#2025</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/35/" target="_blank">#35</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/american-metal/" target="_blank">#AmericanMetal</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/apr25/" target="_blank">#Apr25</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/beholder/" target="_blank">#Behölder</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/black-lion-records/" target="_blank">#BlackLionRecords</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/candlemass/" target="_blank">#Candlemass</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/crypt-sermon/" target="_blank">#CryptSermon</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/epic-doom-metal/" target="_blank">#EpicDoomMetal</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/eternal-champion/" target="_blank">#EternalChampion</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/hammerfall/" target="_blank">#Hammerfall</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/heavy-metal/" target="_blank">#HeavyMetal</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/in-the-temple-of-the-tyrant/" target="_blank">#InTheTempleOfTheTyrant</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/judicator/" target="_blank">#Judicator</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/review/" target="_blank">#Review</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/reviews/" target="_blank">#Reviews</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/sorcerer/" target="_blank">#Sorcerer</a></p>