Twin Temple Concert Photos and Review

On September 8th, 2023 at Starland Ballroom (NJ), I had the pleasure of getting to photograph and see Twin Temple perform for the first time. I won’t lie, before getting approved for the photo pass for them, I had no clue who Twin Temple was. I just assumed they were similar to the band Behemoth who they were opening for musically, maybe a little lighter. What I was not expecting was a Satanic doo-wop band (well the Satanic part was less surprising). I wound up thoroughly enjoying their performance in a purely subjective manner. However, objectively, starting with the stage set up, it was elaborate yet simple in how well it set the tone of their set. Nothing too over the top, but a few small items such as a skull, swords, goblet, cross, etc. that were used during the set to create an ambiance of Satanism and lust.

There are plenty of bands that I love listening to, who also sound great live, who I have no desire to ever go see again because their stage presence was underwhelming. I go to a show, not just for the music, but to see a show. Twin Temple is a band that sounded great live and put on a fantastic show. The vocalist Alexandra had a great chemistry with the crowd along with (unsurprisingly), her husband Zachary. A highlight of the show was the tension build-up as Alexandra drank the blood from the goblet and spitting it occasionally at the crowd and Zachary…handled the crucifix so to speak, to ending with an entwined embrace between them with the blood still visibly dripped down Alexandra’s chin.

Overall, despite a fairly different sound from Behemoth, Twin Temple was an excellent choice of opener and to set a tone while giving a bit of a change-up in music style before Behemoth (as they put on an excellent show as well). Plenty of bands can have a type of shtick or theme to make themselves stand out, but not many can pull it off where it envelops the band itself to become what you would consider their essence. Plenty of people would question what you are talking about if you tell them about a “Satanic Doo-Wop” band, but all you would need to do is show them Twin Temple and it would all make sense.

Jessica DeSimone

1 year ago in News