German death metal outfit Temple Of Dread are set to release their fifth album entitled God of the Godless on October 4th. The band’s guitarist Markus Bünnemeyer took the time to talk with Metal Express Radio about their upcoming album, playing Pitfest, releasing albums at a consistent pace, and more. Check out the chat below!
Metal Express Radio: Your band, Temple Of Dread, are set to release their fifth album entitled God of the Godless on October 4th, what can you tell fans about the upcoming release?
Bünnemeyer: After the rather experimental previous album, fans can look forward to a classic ‘back to roots album’ with God of the Godless. It will be fast and hard, have brilliant artwork and once again pick up on Greek mythologies. Overall, the songs sound smoother and more compact and the whole album feels like a single unit.
MER: How was the writing and recording process having this being your band’s fifth album?
Bünnemeyer: Jörg, Jens, our lyricist Frank and I are now a very well-rehearsed team. We all understand what Temple of Dread is about and this time we have focussed even more on the essentials and cut out all the superfluous ballast. Basically, I write the music and Frank writes the lyrics. Jörg and Jens then work out their drum and vocal parts in great detail and then we record everything in Jörg’s Soundlodge Studio.
MER: How would you compare this to your band’s previous albums?
Bünnemeyer: God of the Godless represents the quintessence of Temple of Dread: We have tried to summarize the best of all previous albums in the new songs. We are continuing on our path consistently. We concentrate on catchy structures, high recognition value and a good old school spirit!
MER: You’ve released two song from the album so far, what kind of feedback have you been able to receive?
Bünnemeyer: The feedback on the first two songs was consistently positive. “Sacrificial Dawn” in particular has a convincing, almost “danceable” beat. Incidentally, this song also features our good friend Marc Grewe (Asinhell, ex-Morgoth) on vocals again.
MER: You recently played Pitfest along with Agnostic Front, Napalm Death, and Massacre, how was it playing a diverse lineup with legends in the genre, as well as it being your first Dutch show?
Bünnemeyer: That was a really incredibly good feeling! We played on the main stage before the bands mentioned and we actually have a lot of fans in the Netherlands. Massacre and Napalm Death in particular are bands that I’ve been listening to since I was very young, whose posters hung above my bed in my room and whose songs I know inside out. Backstage I also met Kam Lee and Barney Greenway and was even able to talk to them briefly. An incredible experience for me as a die-hard-fan!
MER: What do you see as plans after the album release?
Bünnemeyer: I hope that the upcoming album will help us to raise our profile even further. I also hope that we get some cool festival offers in the coming year. We probably won’t release an album next year, but we will definitely start writing new songs and maybe start recording album number six.
MER: Is there anyone that you hope to tour with and why?
Bünnemeyer: I would love to play together with Benediction. I really like the guys and they are very down-to-earth, likeable and funny. I’ve also loved their music for over 30 years!
MER: Is there anywhere you hope to play live and why?
Bünnemeyer: There is the Party.San festival in Germany. This is the Mecca of the death, thrash and black metal scene in Germany. There’s a big community among the fans and being there feels like a big family reunion. I would really like to play here one day.
MER: Since the release of your debut album in 2019, you seem to keep a pace of putting out a record and or EP out once a year, do you and your band feel it’s important to stay at a fast pace?
Bünnemeyer: We actually only decided to perform live last year. However, with countless releases flooding the market these days, you quickly fall into oblivion as a band if you don’t release albums regularly. Besides, I’ve had a very creative run for five years now and I haven’t run out of ideas for new songs yet, hahaha!
MER: What have been some of your favorite releases of 2024 so far?
Bünnemeyer: I like the new albums of AsinHell, Sarke and Vltimas and I’m really looking forward to the upcoming God Dethroned Album.
MER: Out of your band’s five albums, what is one you would suggest to a new fan and why?
Bünnemeyer: Of course, a band always claims that the current album is the best in the band’s history. And I think God of the Godless definitely has a chance of becoming that. But I would perhaps first recommend Hades Unleashed to a new listener – our most successful and catchiest album to date.
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