Demo:listen: Bloodline Ascension Temple

Sometimes the bands we feature here on Demo:listen are up-and-coming acts that are literally one album away from shoving themselves among the pantheon of your favorite contemporary groups. Sometimes we catch in our spotlight outsiders from lesser-known corners of the world. But this week will be the first time we’ve ever in all of our years as an online column featured a demo helmed and, if not created, then assembled by a Canadian conspiracy theorist concerned with ancient vampiric bloodlines.

From Alberta, Canada, this is Bloodline Ascension Temple. 

“BAT basically came together cause I asked a favor,” says founding BAT member, vocalist Demoniarch. “I asked a friend of 20 years to write some quick songs, three songs—and allow me to be the vocalist over the material. I am otherwise not a musician myself, so when time permitted outside Glen’s main band he worked on putting this material together in his home studio. The drummer was in bands with Glen before, they’ve known each other for probably 25 years or more.”

Demoniarch explains how he knows Glen the guitarist and his drummer friend, Trevor: “I dabble in artwork, pretty much how I met these band guys a couple decades ago. I was contacting literally anyone I could find a mention of to show off my website of artwork, and Glen was in a band called Dead Jesus back then and that became one of my first commissioned projects.”

In essence, Bloodline Ascension Temple came together because Demoniarch needed black metal music for his lyrics.

“I suppose both the other two guys are familiar with black metal, but I would probably say they were more involved in the death metal scene, so I suppose a great deal of the concept for this demo, the initial vision so to speak comes from myself and what I sort of wanted to sound like.”

He continues: “BAT is themed around vampires – bloodline dynasties – the hidden secret working orders behind the scenes in the world, the banking cabal, and of course all that conspiracy related material, like adrenochrome for example.”

We’re not sure what he means by that, we say. We ask Demoniarch to explain a little more. 

“Vampires . . .,” he starts. “Basically, a mystical explanation from peasants or plebs over a course of historic fear to explain the unexplainable, but science does provide answers. Adrenochrome is the drug harvested out of blood ridden with adrenaline put there by keeping a victim in a perpetual state of fear. Via today’s science you can isolate that and ingest that—countess Bathory and other vampire folklore about bathing in blood, and/or consuming it is certainly tied together—remnants of lost history evidently trying to be recreated? Much has occurred on this earth before modern man’s time—evidence of highly skilled engineers still remains in stone, and these cities were around in medieval times when the rich royalty of those days could loot the tombs, and misunderstand perhaps ancient ritual science thus giving birth to the legends of monstrous vampires. But we again live in the age of learned science, and the bloodlines of those old rich medieval kings and queens still exists, as do the rituals around blood.

“And yes, there is conspiracy today. Knowledge is power, and the power is not willingly shared. Even the consumption of Christ’s blood at Mass suggests a deeper meaning than mere wine to have a sunday glow. Another ritual copied and continued from some deeper meaning dredged up out of a past when all of that institution was taking form and being designed.”

 

Rise Vanity Fall

On one hand, we’re a little sorry we asked. If only because now we gotta worry about the veracity of vampires. On the other hand, it’s great material for some wild black metal, which is exactly was Bloodline Ascension Temple offer up on their three track debut, Rise Vanity Fall. But how about that band name, and its meaningful acronym. 

“The band name came around through a process of working titles off each other until this was the final idea both me and Glen crafted up. Ironically when just calling it BAT was happenstance and pure coincidental. I wanted a epic name, something that suggested effort was put into the project.” 

According to Demoniarch, “Glen wrote all the music,” on Rise Vanity Fall. “Trevor the drummer just came in and did his thing and left,” he continues. “The drummer himself has some amazing skills but never is willing or interested in long term commitment to projects of any sort, I just handed the vocals and lyrics and the rest of the work was all Glen in his own studio (Soul December Studio). The band will not be a live act, the project is a studio only effort.”

Rise Vanity Fall was recorded in the basement of Glens house,” says Demoniarch. “He has his own studio there, and all that mixing and effort required to make something listenable is all thanks to his effort to manage that task. I just supplied cover art,” Demoniarch laughs.

“The demo sounding like it does is probably due to Glens inability to be content with something—he keeps working at it trying to achieve perfection, which I didn’t want. I wanted a little raw and unprofessional but I guess it’s like any artwork, what is crafted is the final result of your abilities, and that’s how I see this, the honest effort of that particular time. It sounds listenable, and that was the only point I made, there is no need for music to sound like its all recorded through one mic anymore haha—but I personally was expecting slower more ritualistic drumming initially when vocalizing the concept for this project I had in my head, but Trevor doesn’t know slow.”

Demoniarch continues to explain: “Glen did all the synth work himself fitting it in where it fits. We all are Emperor fans, I suppose that eerie element keys/synths can put into music is very important for achieving any haunted or mystic design. When I did the vocals, I had to be over the top—I mean, look at my peers in Edmonton. I had to try and do something to get some of these guys to listen to it and be interested in what they were hearing.”

The future is hazy for Bloodline Ascension Temple. While it seems there will eventually be more material, Demoniarch can’t say when. 

“Currently the work on demo 2 is underway, once again it’s when time permits,” he says. “The art is all ready, the lyrics written, some song themes already recorded, but all of this has to be done around Glen’s other projects as time permits.”