DARK MEDITATION: Seattle Heavy Metal Practitioners To Kick Off Polluted Temples West Coast Tour
Photo by Sarah HammelFrom the cold and stormy city of Seattle comes Dark Meditation. With a wicked sound that combines the darkest and most theatrical aspects of hard rock, Dark Meditation has unleashed a truly modern heavy metal classic in Polluted Temples, their full-length debut album released via Satanik Royalty Records.
Polluted Temples display a plethora of influences. Upon listening to the album one can instantly hear the dark influence of Danzig and King Diamond. The tracks on Polluted Temples show an equal debt to both the New Wave of British Heavy Metal and old-school goth and Deathrock. Despite their having a heavy punk ethos throughout Polluted Temples, many of the songs have a Sunset Strip glam metal arena vibe to them. The punk rock stomp is expertly complimented by 80s metal hooks and musicianship.
Polluted Temples Tracklist 1. Horus Rising (Prelude) 2. Babalon.Money.Magick 3. Haunt Of Fear 4. Strange Caress (Of The Night) 5. Masters Coil 6. Desolation Days 7. The Howling Wild 8. Drink Of The Blade 9. Nocturnal Forever 10. Polluted Temples Dark Meditation was founded by the trio of vocalist A.D. Vick, guitarist Rane, and guitarist/synth player Ian. The three worked on the songs that would eventually make it to Polluted Temples to achieve catharsis from various traumas and troubling times the individual members had been going through.
“Most of our songs deal with personal consequences of our actions and how it affects the world around us. But there is also the looming specter of evangelical Christianity that I was brought up in and trying to break away from the dogmatic concepts that were pushed upon me in childhood.”
Soon they were joined by bassist JW Mullet and Drummer Will Kilntberg. All the members were seasoned musicians having played in underground bands such as Emeralds (SEA), O.S.S., R.I.P., and Wildildlife. While the members of Dark Meditation had been working for up to half a decade to create their uniquely noir outlook in their music, Polluted Temples just took two weeks to record in June 2021 during a hellish heat wave in Seattle. Production was overseen by Matt Bayles who had previously worked with such notable acts as Mastodon, The Sword, and Soundgarden. So well received was the band’s debut album, that Austrian boutique black metal label Doctrina Carnis released Polluted Temples before Dark Meditation played their first live show.
The band has released two singles off Polluted Temples. The first is “Haunt of Fear” which is instrumental and is reminiscent of the proto-black metal of Merciful Fate and Venom while the vocals are more akin to 80s-era hard rock.
“’Haunt of Fear’ deals with the concept of creating a ‘devil’ or a problem you may fixate on to serve as an invented boogeyman, where fear governs your mindset and instills hatred or provides a scapegoat on why you can’t move forward with your life. Musically, it’s a thunderous foundation of first-wave black metal riffage, wailing pinch harmonics and dueling guitar solos.”
Their more recent single is “Desolation Days.” The single may appeal to modern Ghost fans just as much as it would to more traditional metalheads and deathrockers. The track has the catchiness that is often associated with the more commercially successful 80s metal and goth scenes while retaining a certain grit.
“‘Desolation Days’ is a commentary on the disparity between people and our continued march to oblivion, how no matter hard you might try it seems like you can’t keep up with the world and in each passing day, people or institutions manipulate emotions/relationships to get what they want without a care for the toll it takes on society. Fittingly, it’s a righteous strut of mid-tempo death rock with heavy metal flourishes culminating in a fitting chant for the end of days. ”
Dark Meditation are currently promoting Polluted Temples with a tour of the West Coast. The tour will conclude with Dark Meditation performing at the Satanik Royalty Records Showcase at Belltown Yacht Club on September 30th. They will be joined by labelmates Sandrider, Heiress, Izthmi, and Ugly.
