Templebeat

Templebeat was an Italian industrial metal band.

Templebeat has been a fresh and young electro/crossover act from Italy consisting of three male members that were working on promoting anti-conventional music with a postnuclear dancefloor hypnotism. They have nothing to do with the classical rock groups - no looking back, Templebeat's sound wanted to be a point of no return. Sampling, rhythms, noises, sequencers and hypnotic beats - that's the world of Templebeat. "The personal computer is the LSD of the eighties" - Timothy Leary.

Electro-heroes Pankow were the first ones in Italy to choose Leary's words as their musical philosophy - and what about the nineties? Templebeat were the second generation...

Templebeat began their activity in 1990. The tape compilation "Tribute to PTV" powered by T.O.P.Y.TV (Italian semi-official branch of Thee Temple ov Psychic Youth) contained their remake of "Ov Power", de-constructed in a hardbeat way.1991: TB won the prestigious festival contest "Arezzo Wave" and consequently had their song "Fuckin' Mosquito" included on the double LP/CD "Arezzo Wave 1991" released by Polygram records. Their gig in Arezzo was recorded, filmed and entirely broadcast by the TV music channel "VideoMusic".

At the end of 1991 TB issued a 3 tracks EP on 12" entitled "Auto Da Fe'". This genuinely produced and marketed 12" sold 1,100 copies in Italy alone and only a few copies found their way to other European countries or overseas.The unexpected success of this first release helped the band to get their first deal with DUNE Records, the Contempo manufactured label of Pankow's Paolo Favati - certainly the most acclaimed producer for electronic music in Italy. The result "Wargasm" - a 6 track CD-Single entirely produced by Paolo F. and FM of Pankow quickly turned out to be another successful step. The single was distributed throughout the world and topped Electro charts in Germany (Technoclub), England (Hardclub, Eurobeat 2000) and especially Scandinavia. "Einstein On The Beach" a track from "Wargasm" - became a video clip that got heavy rotation on Videomusic and 3 appearances on MTV's 120 Minutes.

Although several interesting offers came in from labels all around Europe, the band refused all approaches in order to concentrate on the work for their first full album, again produced by Paolo Favati and his production company Dune. While working on "Black Suburbia" (The title of the album), offers started to come in for live-appearances in Europe and the band joined Pankow on their very last tour 1992/93. Templebeat's concert in Prague has subsequently been filmed and broadcasted on MTV's "120 Minutes" alongside an interview with the band.

As an immediate result of their TV appearance (4/93) earlier contacts with foreign labels have been renewed and new offers for record deals started flooding in.

In November 1993 finally, Dune and Templebeat decided to assign all national and international rights on the band to Audioglobe's Sub/Mission label.

"Black Suburbia" the bands first album was licensed worldwide toNoise/Machinery records in Berlin and appeared in June 1994. Two singles "Heidi S." and "Interzone" quickly became real dancefloor and headbanger classics in the German and American club scenes, and "Black Suburbia" has been successfully launched onto the American market in February 1995.

Discography and tapeography

Tapes

"Ov Power" in Tribute to Ptv (TOPY TV Italy, 1990)

"Xperience" in Xybernethnix (TOPY TV Italy, 1991)

"Hide and seek" in From thelematics to telepathics (TOPY TV Italy, 1992)

Discs

Auto Da Fe' 12" (1991) :TB Records

Wargasm CDS (1992) :Dune Records: DUNE920D107 1. Einstein On The Beach (Rapemix) 2. Einstein On The Beach (Ravemix) 3. I Wanna Be An Erotic Cult Hero 4. Einstein On The Beach (Ragemix) 5. Einstein On The Beach (Raremix)

Heidi S. CDS (5/1994) : Dynamica: DY 4- 1. Heidi S. (Lassigue Bendthaus Mix) 2. Metal 2 (Bruce Lee Version) 3. Heidi S. (Extendermix) 4. Wet Dreams Are Made Of This Black Suburbia (6/1994) :Sub/Mission: WHIP006cd 1. We 2. Metal 2: Money Or Sex 3. Interzone. 3. Interzone. 4. Softly September 5. Heidi S. 6. Message 4 7. Trans 8. She's Lost Control 9. God Sent 10. Einstein On The Bitch 11. Intolerance 12. Message 2 13. Fight 14. Message 1 15. Human (the tears you cry) 16. Message

Interzone CDS (10/1994) :Dynamica: DY 12-3 1. Interzone (Reversed Mix) 2. Human Foolish Rape 3. Interzone (Album Mix) 4. Interspeed

Wicked CDS (11/1995) :Sub/Mission: WHIP021cd 1. Wicked (Pulp Version) 2. Magic Patrol (The Final Chapter?) 3. I Wanna Be An Erotic Cult Hero ('96 Remix) 4. You Spin Me Round (Minimal Version) Mediasickness (1996) :Sub/Mission: WHIP022cd 1. World In Motion (Intro) 2. Magic Patrol 3. Wicked (Wicked Mix) 4. The Brain Cult Of Macho Irony 5. OB 1 6. Liberace 7. You Spin Me Round 8. Gone With The Mind 9. OB 2.1 10. Just Ice (Slow) 11. OB 2.1 12. World In Motion (Full) 13. Baby Amphetamine 14. Each Man Kills The Things He Loves

Reviews:

Templebeat - Heidi S.

This is one of two singles released by Templebeat, now on the Dynamicalabel. It consists of two mixes of the title track and two other tracks:Metal 2 (a version that does not appear on their album) and a completely newtrack Wet Dreams Are Made Of This. Heidi S.is not the best track that the group have ever produced as it tends to be a bit repetitive and particularly guitary. (Although to be honest a lot of the Templebeat material has guitars.)

The first mix is by Lassigue Bendthaus, a superb synth band in their own right but this mix is really strange and not what I would have come to expect form the crew at Lassigue Bendthaus. The guitars are definitely too strong on such a track. And it is way too long for such a repetitive guitar sound.

Metal 2 (Bruce Lee Version)is a different track altogether. A good track off the album using guitars to better use and mingling them with synthesised sounds and a great drum beat. This particular mix is also pretty good and does enhance the qualities of the original.

The Extendermixb of Heidi S.has an altogether better feel to it than the first mix on this single. Again a little too repetitive but lots more synthesised sounds are added rather than just the bland guitar sounds.

The last track Wet Dreams Are Made Of This starts out as a feast of drums and superb electronic beeps and whistles. In come the guitars andunfortunately gives it more of a thrash metal feel to it rather than adecent electronic sound. However they do still use the electronic sounds all the way through this track and even a bit of over emphasised distortion on the vocals. This single would appeal to the die hard Templebeat fans but its not the best thing they have produced to date.

CyberNoise

Templebeat - Black Suburbia

Paolo Favati of Pankow brings together a motley brand of sonic terrorists and produces one hell of an album. The metal infusion on the "Heidi S." CDS is nowhere near as evident on "Black Suburbia" - all you get here is superb electronic aggression in a strong Pankow vein. "Interzone" even cracks along like early Bigod 20. Sixteen digital classics, the finest being the aforementioned "Interzone", "Softly September", "God Sent", "Einstein On The Bitch" and "Human". There's even a twisted version of Joy Division's "She's Lost Control".

Leigh Neville - MFTEQ

Templebeat - Black Suburbia

One of the very few catchy guitar industrial bands out there currently.Templebeat actual take the time and effort to put together intelligent song hooks to lure the listener into the music quite unlike many recent guitar based bands. Strong political message permeate the music leaving me to question what exactly is the meaning behind the title of the album. Overall, an at least noteworthy guitar based industrial band whose music does not depend on the guitar as its primary device of construction but rather employs a great deal of electronic programming and synthetic work to accent the it.

Sonic Boom

Templebeat - Interzone

This is the first single, I have heard by Templebeat, and what aninteresting single it is too. It is a mixture of electronic samples andguitar riffs, with a splattering of drums, to keep everyone happy.

The first remix of the track Interzone (and in fact the only mix, as the other one is the one contained on the album), is a fiery collaboration of electronic sounds and guitars, which play throughout the track. It is basically an instrumental of the track, with the only spoken sounds being samples from various sources.

Human Foolish Rape, is although classed as a new track, by not having a mix name, is actually a mix of an album track called Human (the tears you cry).Here we have a domination by the drums, as they thump out the tune,keyboards are added to the hard sound of the drums to collide into a neural pathway, splitting sound, which is very groovy indeed.

The album mix of Interzone, is quite a lot different from the mix that I heard earlier, for a start it has lyrics. It is also more complex, whereas the mix just concentrated on repeating the music, this version is played about with a bit more, adding new sounds and a new train of thought in its construction.

Interspeed is a strange mix of Interzone, an almost minimalistic version of the track created by, an electronic drum beat, and the words Interzone screamed in various appropriate places. Guitar samples are still there but almost hidden away by the power of the drumming.

Bashed into submission by that last track my final views on this single, is that it is damn fine, an excellent collection of tracks which, could start popularity for this band racing.

CyberNoise

Templebeat CD cover layout were weird, one of the best CD-cover layout featured Little Snow White having a very....erm...unusual sexual affair with Pinocchio!

Discography

* "Auto Da Fe 12" (1991)
* "Wargasm" (EP, 1992)
* "Black Suburbia" (LP, 1994, Dynamica-under license from Sub/Mission)
* "Heidi S." (1994, Dynamica-under license from Sub/Mission)
* "Interzone" (1994, Dynamica-under license from Sub/Mission)
* "Wicked" (1995, Sub/Mission)
* "Mediasickness" (1996, [Sub/Mission - licensed to [21st Circuitry] for the US only)

External links

* [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:13820r3at48z~T0 All Music Guide]