The Ruins of Beverast has never released a bad album. Its architect, Nagelfar alum Alexander von Meilenwald, has both a devotion to the trve and old-school as well as a flexibility to experiment, creating a legendary discography that feels like a natural progression from beginning to end. From the early and raw marriage of black metal and doom that set the foundation with genre classics Unlock the Shrine and Rain Upon the Impure, to the more melodic and ritualistic horrors of Foulest Semen of a Sheltered Elite and Blood Vaults, culminating in the ritual-imbued pinnacle Exuvia, the act has an uncanny ability to recall the familiar while trudging into unexplored territory. Tempelschlaf is the newest installment of just that.

If I’m being honest, I was not a fan of predecessor The Thule Grimoires – not for a flaw on von Meilenwald’s part but of my own preferences. Case in point, its heavier Type O Negative Gothic leanings and interplay of chord structures and themes weren’t necessarily my cup of tea, although they definitely were the gone-but-unforgotten Akerblogger’s brew of choice. Tempelschlaf echoes The Thule Grimoires in psychedelic textures and a more prominent baritone clean vocal presence that conjures a ritualistic madness, streamlined into a stronger crescendo and sense of purpose, as well as its signature breed of atmospheric black-doom with a hint of death metal. Tempelschlaf is exactly what you’d expect from The Ruins of Beverast.

Tempelschlaf by The Ruins Of Beverast

As always, balance and songwriting are The Ruins of Beverast’s priority, demonstrating von Meilenwald’s dedication to both progression and devotion to the blackened arts. As seen throughout the act’s legendary discography, Tempelschlaf features seamless movements from furious blasting to simmering menace to crystalline psychedelia to climactic solos, which is a clear winning formula, bolstered by a dichotomy of plodding black/doom furor and ritualistic placidity. The opening title track is of special note for its shifts and subtlety: blackened intensity is placed in the background in favor of a mammoth and dense foray into doom-saturated goth rock, giving a blackened Depeche Mode vibe with a lack of harsh vocals and instead, baritone sermons atop pulsing ritualistic drums guiding into a dreary and menacing goth verses, drenched in frosted keys and psychedelic textures. It sets the tone for the rest of the album, giving The Ruins of Beverast perhaps their biggest crescendo yet.

While the focus shifts from a mind-altering breed of psychedelic and dense doom metal in the opener, the rest of the album offers no gentle reprieve. While the wavering between the simmering and the searing is an asset for The Ruins of Beverast, it’s far more intense with a trve blackened assault guiding the proceedings (“Day of the Poacher”), but the back half of the album finds the album remarkably cohesive – the collision of ideas creating some of the most epic and grandiose movements since Exuvia. The drums’ mammoth pace, the guitar tone whose heft and barb are equally displayed, the venomous and toxic shrieks, and the otherworldly atmosphere through classic synth textures assemble in a massive sound that already feels like AOTY material (“Cathedral of Bleeding Statues,” “Alpha Fluids,” “The Carrion Cocoon”), interspersed by moments of furious blackened intensity (“Babel, You Scarlet Queen!”) and the lull before the storm (“Last Theatre of the Sea”). These tracks are the exemplar for The Ruins of Beverast’s breed of blackened doom, once again reinforcing itself as the upper echelon through von Meilenwald’s legendary career.

It’s nearly impossible for Beverast to top Exuvia, but without its first two tracks, Tempelschlaf comes damn close. It is not that the title track or “Day of the Poacher” fall short, but rather that their place in the album is to set the stage for the better pieces, complete with more abrupt tonal shifts, heightened melody, and just a bit too much chaos. That being said, von Meilenwald once again outdoes himself with an album devoted to blackened fury, monolithic doom, and otherworldly atmospheric textures, incorporating hints of the psychedelic goth rock of The Thule Grimoires in a far more streamlined capacity. Tempelschlaf is The Ruins of Beverast doing business as usual: growth, experimentation, and excellence.

Rating: 4.0/5.0
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: Ván Records
Websites: theruinsofbeverast.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/the.ruins.of.beverast
Releases Worldwide: January 9th, 2026

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