The Temple

The Temple are a band formed in Brussels, Belgium in 1994 by Olivier Van Houte (guitars, vocals), Manu De Ros (bass, vocals) & Philip Joseph (drums, tambourine, backing vocals). They soon welcomed Marc El Khadem (rhythm guitar) and went on to tour Belgium and other countries while recording their first album (“The Temple” in 1996). In the following years the band continued touring and recorded two more albums (“Straight” in 1998 and “Agalma” 2002). It was also around that time that they released a Black metal album under the name of “the Undedz”. The mini-album featured some covers of their own songs played in a black metal/ thrash metal manner and was released in late 1999 (only on cd-r). In 2004 they recorded and released a self-distributed Live album on cd-r (“Do Not Feed the Animals-Live!”). Both the Live album and “Agalma” were recorded by Didier Moens from “La Muerte”. "Peace and Love Amplifier", the 2005 release came out from very fruitful recording sessions and a period of vivid creativity for the band. The Temple was fully in touch with their very own style of music and their unique way of mixing their influences while providing a singular sound. From the same recording sessions came the album “After Tea Time” (2009) featuring a mix of original songs and covers from bands/ artists as diverse as Kim Wilde, Queen, Iron Butterfly, Shocking Blue, Kiss, Deep Purple or Ike & Tina Turner. It had been a long and winding road, and as the band wanted to properly celebrate their soon-to-be 20th anniversary, The Temple started recording an “anniversary” album, made only of covers and using unusual instrumentation and recording ways. The album (only available on Lp w/ bonus cd-r) was released in 2014 under the name of “The Wrong Swans of Jezaloo”, and was called “Turbo Covers”. It was an album made for fans and friends, clearly a “thank you” to all followers. An album of new material -working titled “Sinister Companions”- was partially recorded during 2013-14, but never saw the light of day. In 2018, the band decided to go on a hiatus. A well-deserved pause...for the time being... The Temple has always been a hard working band, playing a Hard rock’n’roll inspired by the great bands of the 70’s, but also influenced by some of the 80’s new wave and 90’s era grunge and metal scene. All albums have been self-released on their own label 12:01 Lunatics. They are definitely a band of their time, kickin’ ass, sweating booze and rock’n’roll. The Temple reformed in June 2020 with all four original members. Although no clear plans for the future have been made, the band started practicing for a possible upcoming tour and some new recordings. Stronger than ever!