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This is a genius slab of metal right here. What Root did with their second album, Hell Symphony, sounded great, but this one sounds even better. Though not wandering too far from the tone they set with Hell Symphony, Root expands their sound and horizons even more on The Temple in the Underworld. Each song, once again, sounds completely different the other, and if you've read my past reviews you may have noticed that this is a point I like to mention a lot, that one of the best ways for a band to release a truly spectacular album is for each track to have its own distinctive personality, which is definitely the case for this one. "The Temple In The Underworld" is a grimy and sinister blackened masterpiece, while "My Name…" is an unbelievably beautiful acoustic work of art. Even the songs that have the same feel, such as "The Solitude" and "Voices From…" contain completely different structures and instruments to keep things interesting.

Almost every song on this album is a masterpiece and is memorable in its own right. The use of acoustic guitar helps mold Root's sound even more than it did on Hell Symphony, as the tracks that use it are absolutely haunting and outstanding. Even the ones that don't use it do a fantastic job of keeping that Root sound, thanks to the fantastic vocal work of Big Boss, who sets one of the highest standards of how epic Black Metal should be sung. If it weren't for him, I feel Root might just be good, as opposed to stupendous. Take for example "Casilda's Song," which starts off strong for just under a minute and a half without vocals. This portion of the song is amazing, but it's Big Boss's mixture of eerie whispering and grandiose crooning on top of these crushing and epic riffs (especially towards the end of the song) that truly sets this song apart and sets the example of how well pulled off the band's sound can be.

The listening experience of this album is truly extraordinary. This is one of those albums that you can listen to from start to finish without feeling any need to skip tracks. The atmosphere is so inviting it's hard to turn away once you've listened to the first one or two tracks.

Please go get this album, it was recently re-issued and needs to be appreciated. Show some love to these Czech Black Metal crusaders ASAP.

Additional Information

2009 re-issue on I Hate Records reviewed here. Contains the following bonus tracks:

11. My Deep Mystery
12. Freebee
13. Poslové & Temnot (Version 1993)
14. My Name... (Version 2001)
15. The Old Ones (Live)