Dyspläcer—Temple Heights (2023)

Details

Recorded at Knight in a High Tower Studios. Released Thursday 20 April 2023

For fans of Iron Maiden, Enforcer, Tokyo Blade, Helloween

Band

Justice Blaze Bragg—Vocals
Grandmaster Bush—Guitar
Dragon of the Mystic Peaks—Guitars
White Panther of the 12th Chamber—Bass
Northern Sage of the Rising Moon—Drums

Tracks

Intro
Lightning fury fist
Black widow
Temple heights
Kuma kaiju
Bloodsport
Forgotten victories
Way of the ninja
Halls of justice
DVD

Review

Temple Heights (2023) is the debut album from Rochester, NY’s new wave of traditional kung fu band Dyspläcer.

Yeah… you read that correctly: new wave of traditional kung fu (NWOTKF). Which begs the question, when exactly was the first wave of traditional kung fu?! Perhaps we’ll never know.

The press release was clear about how special this band is: “Dyspläcer seeks to reinvent heavy metal with a new edge, high intensity performances and a unique sound that cuts like a katana. Trained in the Kung Fu halls of Temple Heights, Dyspläcer brings their epic tales to the masses with their signature new wave of traditional kung fu with a samurai edge, with a hint of ninja slop, saki-infused rock n roll, heavy metal sound.”

So… so, there’s that.

*Dyspläcer… in a place, presumably dyspläcing*

Listening to their album… well, for a start, let’s just marvel at the album cover artwork.

This is just magnificent! This album has everything that you might want from a kung fu-themed album cover. And if you haven’t already watched Kung Fury… seriously, stop what you are doing and go and watch Kung Fury on YouTube right now! You won’t regret it.

The music… well, this is essentially a kung fu-themed 1980s-influenced, galloping Iron Maiden meets screaming Helloween-like vocals and dual-guitar melodies coupled with the dress sense and stage presence of Steel Panther.

What’s not to love about it?!

Conclusion

This album is fun (and I mean this in the nicest possible way) disposable heavy metal. Get in, play, laugh, rock out, get out again and party!

This takes me back to the late 80s/early 90s watching Raw Power and Noisy Mothers in the middle of the night. This is Spinal Tap with an oriental hint. Everything is over-the-top and indulgent, magnified out of proportion. It’s wonderful!

Kids, this is what the 1980s was like! But with miners’ strikes.

Review score: 80%

Video

Disclosure

MDPR contacted me inviting me to preview Dyspläcer’s forthcoming album, thank you. I have no connections to either MDPR or Dyspläcer. I’m not being paid to review this. But I did get a free digital copy of the album to review which is pretty cool. Many thanks to Zach from MDPR, and to Dyspläcer for continuing to create fresh, exciting new metal.