TWIN TEMPLE
The gothic Californian couple invented a new genre called Satanic doo-wop. All hail!
This was the year Twin Temple brought Devil-worshipping doo-wop into our world, helping Satanism futher encroach on the mainstream. Ironically hailing from the City of Angels, they released their debut album, Twin Temple (Bring You Their Signature Sound… Satanic Doo-wop), back in March. Made up of husband and wife pair Zachary and Alexandra James, Twin Temple is a passion project that has taken them further than they ever expected.
“We made this for ourselves and we weren’t even sure anybody else would dig it at all,” Alexandra explains. “We are weird and everybody else in the industry who saw us basically ghosted us and wanted nothing to do with us. It’s crazy that our album is on Metal Hammer’s Best Albums Of 2019 list; I used to pick up British rock magazines and see there were very few women in there. I wish I could time travel and tell my little-girl self that one day she’ll be in that magazine too.”
The couple met through the West Coast punk rock scene, bonded over a shared love for rock’n’roll and formed Twin Temple on Halloween 2016. Despite the potential for domestic disagreements, their studio sessions were remarkably peaceful.
“There were many black magick hexes flung at one another in the writing process!” jokes Alexandra.
“Not really, the whole album was very collaborative; it was inspiring to work with Zachary. We were inside our own little world, so it was a very relaxed creative process. We butt heads from time to time because we’re both fiery and opinionated, but on the whole it was magical.”
Recorded live in a handful of takes, Twin Temple (Bring You…) was a DIY affair recorded at their friend Jonny Bell’s 1950s-inspired Jazzcats Studio studio in Long Beach, California. They made it following pressure from fans at their live shows.
“People came to our merch booth angrily yelling at us to make a record, so we went to our friend and made the thing in a day or two,” Alexandra explains. “We’d been performing the songs live for years, so by the time we got into the studio, we just played each two or three times, chose our favourite take and moved on; each song only took 15 minutes maximum. All the work came on the front end for writing and finishing arrangements, but what you hear is what you get – our drummer’s stand fell over during one of the songs and you can still hear it in the final recording! We wanted to pay homage to the raw, organic spirit of rock’n’roll.”
Ranging from the Amy Winehouseesque Let’s Hang Together to the dulcet tones of Lucifer, My Love, the album is a culmination of the band’s inspirations in soul, jazz, blues, 1960s girl groups and heavy metal. It’s the sound they’ve long wanted to hear.
“We’re avid collectors of old, forgotten rock and occult records, so for us this is the record we were always hunting for – that really rare, deep soul doo-wop cut that makes you think, ‘What the hell, they worship the Devil, that’s amazing!’” smiles Alexandra.
“It was really important to be honest and open with the themes: sexuality and what it means to be a woman, what it means to embrace your shadow and explore darkness.”
Touching on serious social topics that are close to songwriters Alexandra and Zachary’s hearts, Twin Temple (Bring
You…) tackles the tricky, real-world issues their religion hopes to dispel. “There’s a very strong feminist message I was trying to convey,” Alexandra continues, “upending those patriarchal fairytales of women being the root of all evil or man’s ruin, the road to destruction or Adam and Eve’s original sin. The woman is this ancient pariah and Satanism is about donning the mantle of all these things that have been used against you. My lyrical content was an extension of that idea, and a lot of people have told me they found that self-empowerment in our record. That’s what keeps us going for 14 hours in the van.”
For those who haven’t been scared off by their theatrics and original approach, Satanism is open and you don’t need a blood ritual to get stuck in. “The beautiful thing about Satanism is there’s no conversion, no proselytising,” she explains. “Anton Lavey wrote that Satanists are born, not made; this is a philosophy that either resonates with you or it doesn’t, either way is fine and you can take whatever you want from it. Nobody can tell you if you’re a real Satanist or witch; in our opinion that’s up to you, and there’s no qualifications.”
Most of Twin Temple’s shows have been in the United States, but they are heading across Europe in January for a headline run and pondering a possible return in the summer.
Their eerie presence is just as enticing onstage as it is on record.
“The response has been amazing so far,” Alexandra enthuses. “Satan bless social media, there’s even people in the middle of Idaho singing our songs back to us! We’re playing intimate clubs now, and it’s really special that people are right there in the front row with you. We do a Satanic baptism blood ritual, which we call the ‘splash zone’, at the end of our shows and we get to touch everybody’s hands and faces in the crowd. It’s been so exciting – something diabolical is happening here.”
“NO ONE CAN TELL YOU YOU’RE NOT A ‘REAL’ SATANIST”