Temple of Dread Interview (Markus Bünnemeyer)

Since forming on Spiekeroog Island, Temple of Dread has built one of the most solid and consistent careers in contemporary death metal. With the release of Dreadspawn Dominion, the band not only delivers a sonic assault of pure OSDM (Old School Death Metal), but also expands the boundaries of its own dark universe, revisiting conceptual narratives that journey straight to the underworld. We had the opportunity to speak in depth with the band members to unravel the secrets behind the production, cover art, and songwriting of this new manifesto of brutality. Enter the temple and read our exclusive interview.

Para ver la entrevista en español: Entrevista a Temple of Dread

Metallerium: Hello and welcome to Metallerium.com! Thank you for taking the time to talk with us today. We are grateful to talk about Temple of Dread and your sixth Full-length “Dreadspawn Dominion” along with many other topics related to your music. It’s been two years since your last release, so we’d love to hear how you and the band are doing now that the new album is out. How is the band doing with this new release?

Temple of Dread: Hi, it’s great to talk to you again. We’ve just returned from the Party.San Festival, which is probably the biggest Death and Black Metal festival we have here in Germany. We played a really good show there and we’re very happy with how it went. In a way, the Party.San show was also our album release show. The album was released on Festival Friday, and so far we’ve received nothing but great reviews and very positive feedback. The sales have also been good, so we’re extremely happy with how everything is going.

Metallerium: For many years, Temple of Dread operated primarily as a tight three-piece studio force. However, for "Dreadspawn Dominion," you officially welcomed Daniel Maurer on second guitar and Andi Bauer on bass. How did expanding into a quintet alter your songwriting and recording dynamics in the studio, and what new flavors did they bring to the established Temple of Dread sound?

Temple of Dread: Andi and Daniel are two incredibly talented musicians and, just as importantly, two genuinely wonderful people. The overall atmosphere within the band has improved significantly since they joined us, and both the songwriting process and the recording sessions have become much more enjoyable and productive. Andi is a far better bass player than I am, and he brought much more power and presence to the bass tracks on the new album than I ever could have. Daniel took care of many of the guitar solos and also composed the album’s intro. Both of them have been an absolute asset to Temple of Dread, and we’re very lucky to have them in the band.

Metallerium: The title track, "Dreadspawn Dominion," explicitly revisits the mythological battle of Hades and Charon. Looking back at "Hades Unleashed" (2021) and the concepts behind "God of the Godless" (2024), what draws you so heavily back to the Underworld themes? Is there a continuous narrative arc linking these albums, or do you view each release as a separate chapter of dark mythology?

Temple of Dread: Ever since I was a little kid, I’ve been fascinated by ancient mythology, especially Greek mythology. I love the stories about Hades, the Underworld, monsters and heroes, but also the tragedies and the darker abysses of these myths. On Hades Unleashed, we explored Greek mythology in general. Since Beyond Acheron and God of the Godless, we’ve also developed our own storyline about the conflict between Charon, the ferryman, and

Hades, the ruler of the Underworld. We find this story very exciting, and we can definitely imagine continuing it on the next album as well.

Metallerium: The band has noted that the title track features heavy 80s Thrash Metal influences, while "Hybrid Horde Eternal" marks a historical first for the band by integrating slower, heavy Death-Doom elements. Was this stylistic broadening a conscious effort to challenge yourselves, or did these structures happen naturally due to the new members' backgrounds?

Temple of Dread: Hybrid Horde Eternal was actually written entirely by our vocalist Jens, both the lyrics and the music. Jens is a fantastic guitarist, as he has proven time and again with his band Slaughterday, and this time he offered to contribute a complete song to Temple of Dread as well. Of course, he brings some new facets to our sound, and the doomy middle section in particular reminds me quite a bit of Slaughterday and other classic Doom Metal bands. As for me, I still tend to push our songs more towards the Thrash side of things, because I’ve always been a huge fan of the old Sodom and Kreator records.

Metallerium: Ever since your formation, your lyrics have been written by Frank "Doc" Albers, a psychologist who isn’t even a performing member of the band. While he is considered an unofficial sixth member, some death metal purists argue that true extreme music requires the performing musicians—especially the vocalist—to channel their own personal demons, convictions, and words. Do you ever feel that relying entirely on an outsider’s pen detaches the music from your own inner artistic vision, or does Jens purely feel like a "medium" for someone else's concepts?

Temple of Dread: I wouldn’t see this as something that has to be set in stone. There are other examples in the Extreme Metal scene where things have been done in a similar way. For example, Demonaz wrote a lot of lyrics for Immortal even though he hadn’t been in the band for years at that point. I think that’s perfectly fine. Frank is a very good friend of mine and of the entire band. He supports us a lot, and in fact, Frank was the person I originally came up with the idea of forming Temple of Dread with. Jens does a fantastic job of bringing Frank’s lyrics to life. The two of them also communicate regularly about the lyrics, the length of individual lines, the choice of words, and so on. So there’s a very close collaboration between them. And I don’t think the lyrics are any less authentic just because they aren’t written directly by our vocalist, but by a friend who is, in a way, the band’s sixth member.

Metallerium: You have maintained an incredibly relentless release schedule, putting out "Beyond Acheron" in 2023, "God of the Godless" in 2024, an EP in 2025, and now "Dreadspawn Dominion" in 2026. In an era where fans and critics complain about oversaturation, why the rush? Aren't you afraid that burning through albums so quickly might dilute the quality of your songwriting, or that your audience might experience "Temple of Dread fatigue"?

Temple of Dread: The reason we originally decided to release albums so frequently was that, in the beginning, we didn’t really want to play live. We saw ourselves as a proper band from the start, but not necessarily as a live band. We were worried that if we didn’t play shows, people might simply forget about us, so releasing an album every year was a way of keeping Temple of Dread in people’s minds. For the past two years, however, we’ve been playing live on a regular basis, so we don’t feel the same need to remind people that we’re still around by releasing something new every year. We released God of the Godless in 2024. The EP we put out last year was actually recorded during the COVID pandemic. So we’re basically on a two-year album cycle now, and there won’t be another full-length album from us before 2028.

Metallerium: While songs like "Born to Rot" and "Rites of Blasphemy" carry massive groove and speed, a track like "Scorched by Cosmic Fire" stands out due to its haunting, spacious atmosphere. How do you balance the nonstop "wrecking-ball" approach of Old School Death Metal with the atmospheric, almost cinematic arrangements that give "Dreadspawn Dominion" its distinctive flow?

Temple of Dread: I’m a huge fan of fast and thrashy Death Metal songs, but of course, it can become a little tiring if you have too little variation over the course of an entire album. That’s why we always try to include a few songs that break away from the established patterns, either by using different rhythms or simply by slowing things down. I think we succeeded particularly well with Scorched by Cosmic Fire, which, by the way, I originally had planned to be the album`s opener. It’s a very atmospheric and mystical song. Of course, it still has some fast parts, including blast beats, but overall, it has a much more spacious and almost cosmic feel to it. It creates a completely different atmosphere compared to some of the faster tracks.

Metallerium: Jörg Uken is not only your drummer but also an acclaimed producer at Soundlodge Studios. Having your own band member behind the mixing console can be both a blessing and a challenge. How do you ensure that the production for Temple of Dread stays fresh album after album without falling into a comfortable routine?

Temple of Dread: For me, having Jörg in the band is a huge advantage, both as our drummer and as our producer. It makes all the organizational aspects of recording much easier, of course. When it comes to the sound, I can rely on Jörg completely. He has incredibly high standards for himself and always wants to showcase both his skills as a drummer and as a producer in the best possible way. He puts an enormous amount of effort into creating the best possible sound for Temple of Dread, and he has done a fantastic job on every album. Personally, I think he has outdone himself on this album. I’m extremely happy with the way it sounds, and I think this is probably the best production we’ve had so far.

Metallerium: With a permanent, full lineup now solidified, the demand for live shows is naturally growing, and you are already scheduled for massive events like the Party.San Metal Open Air. How are you preparing to translate the massive studio layer of "Dreadspawn Dominion" onto the stage, and what are your touring plans for Latin America or new territories?

Temple of Dread: We’re already thinking about which songs will work best for our live shows. We’ll probably play two, or maybe three, new songs from the latest album, because the other albums aren’t that old either, hahaha! We know many of our fans quite well and have a good idea of which songs they really want to hear live. So we’ll try to put together a setlist that includes the strongest and most suitable songs from all of our albums. Because of various factors, including our professional and family commitments, we won’t be doing any major tours. Unfortunately, that also means we won’t be playing in Latin America. We’ll mainly focus on Germany and the surrounding countries, and we hope that some interesting offers come our way. We’re definitely looking forward to playing some great shows and meeting our fans along the way.

Metallerium: Finally, what would you like to say to your fans in Latin America and the readers of Metallerium? Thank you again for your time. Congratulations on “Dreadspawn Dominion”, and all the best with the new album!

Temple of Dread: I’d like to say a big thank you to all the readers and listeners of Metallerium, and of course to all our fans in Latin America as well. I think it’s amazing, and one of the great advantages of modern media like Spotify, Instagram, and Facebook, that you can reach fans all over the world, even if you’re not regularly touring in those places. Thank you all very much for your support. We wish you all the best, and thank you for this interview. It was a pleasure talking to you!