Doomed Confessionary: High Priestess NightHawk (Heavy Temple)
Photo credit: Matt Darcy
Heavy Temple is psychedelic doom metal trio from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that came into existence on the 2012 winter solstice during a night filled with the pure enjoyment of creating and playing heavy music. Once established, the band started playing live and soon got to tour alongside such notables as Ruby The Hatchet, Royal Thunder, and Corrosion Of Conformity and they also got to play at notable festivals such as The Maryland Doom Fest and Psycho Las Vegas among many others.
Following the two EPs »Heavy Temple« (2014) and »Chassit« (2016) and a number of singles, Heavy Temple at last took a break from heavy touring to record their first full-length. »Lupi Amoris« that was released in 2021 to strong applause from both critics and followers alike. This album opened new doors including more festival appearances, a US tour with The Obsessed and their first tour of Europe with friends and labelmates Howling Giant.
After extensively touring across the United States and Europe, Heavy Temple returned with their second full-length album »Garden Of Heathens« in 2024. Where the debut full-length »Lupi Amoris« charged forward like a roaring mastodon, »Garden Of Heathens« comes across more diverse and sophisticated without losing punch or heaviness. The album sheds new light and a wider perspective on heavy and desert rock, psychedelia, and doom metal.
Heavy Temple currently consists of High Priestess NightHawk (bass, vocals), Christian Lopez (guitar), and Rick Rhody (drums).
Can you please say a few words about your band?
It sounds redundant, but Heavy Temple is a monument to all things heavy, where the weirdos are welcome.
What was the biggest challenge for the band?
Keeping a band alive this long is a bit like maintaining a haunted house. Something is always breaking, trying to kill you, and occasionally you have to replace the people living inside it. Between money, logistics, and everyone’s lives outside the band, making the music is sometimes the easiest part. The rest can be an exercise in patience and damage control.
What can you be most proud of so far?
That we’re still here after more than a decade. We’ve toured Europe and the US, played with bands we’ve looked up to for years, and built Heavy Temple largely through our own work. I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished without losing sight of what I wanted this band to be.
What was your biggest regret?
The amount of time I’ve spent trying to make the wrong things work. It’s easy to keep investing in people or situations because you’ve already put so much into them. I’ve learned some expensive lessons, financially and emotionally. At least I have some good stories and a suspicious amount of black clothing to show for it.
What was the best concert/tour so far and why?
Our European tour and our full US tour are the two that stand out. We’ve played with some killer bands and absolute legends, but there’s something different about being on the road for an extended stretch. You fall into this strange routine of playing music, driving, finding food at midnight, and doing it all again the next day.
Those tours reminded me why I started doing this. After all the work, uncertainty, and things that inevitably go wrong, you find yourself playing your songs on the other side of the world for people who came to hear them. It’s a pretty good feeling. Then the van breaks down and reality resumes.
Photo credit: Alexandre da Veiga
What was the biggest surprise on the music scene for you?
How little of the music industry actually has to do with the music. You can spend years thinking that making something good is the hard part, only to discover how much depends on money, timing, relationships, and knowing who to trust.
On the other hand, some of the best support we’ve received has come from fans, other bands, and people who had no obligation to help us. That side of the heavy scene is what makes it worthwhile.
What is currently in your heavy musical rotation?
Annihilation Time, Waxed, and Queens Of The Stone Age are regulars. Interpol gets plenty of play, too, even if they’re a different kind of heavy. Sabbath and Scorpions make regular appearances, and lately I’ve been listening to old Whitesnake.
What was the best advice you’ve ever been given as a musician?
Nobody is going to care about your band as much as you do. It’s not particularly comforting, but it’s true. You have to take ownership of what you’re building instead of waiting for someone else to make it happen. Nobody is coming to save you, so you might as well get on with it.
What are your guilty pleasures?
I don’t really believe in guilty pleasures when it comes to art. If you enjoy something, own it. I happily wear my Bad Bunny shirt on stage. That said, I’ve been known to watch the first two seasons of Rock of Love, so my cultural standards aren’t exactly rigid.
Can you say something more about the current music scene in Philadelphia?
Philadelphia has a strong DIY scene and plenty of bands doing their own thing without worrying about fitting into a category. There’s a lot of talent here, and a long history of people making music on their own terms.
Making a living at it is another story. Touring is expensive, venues are under pressure, and getting people out to shows can feel like an elaborate psychological experiment. But there are still people making weird, loud music here, and that’s the kind of scene I want to be part of.
Where can we see you live this year (concerts/tours)?
Keep an eye on our social media for announcements. We’ve released »Live From The Inner Sanctum« and our version of Type O Negative’s »Love You To Death«, and we’re working toward the next chapter of Heavy Temple. We’re doing a west coast week around Mojave Experience with our good friends in Boozewa. And we hope to get back to Europe soon. We’re not good at sitting still for too long.
What are your plans for the future as a band?
We’re planning to record a new album next year, and I want to keep pushing the music somewhere new. I’m not interested in making the same record twice just because people liked the first one. I’d rather follow an idea and see where it takes us, even if we end up somewhere unexpected.
How can people best support your band?
Come to shows, buy records and merch directly from us, and tell your friends about the band. Buying something directly helps pay for the less glamorous parts of touring, like gas, lodging, making more merch. Sharing our music helps, too. Independent bands can’t survive on exposure alone.
Do you have any message for your listeners?
Thank you for sticking with us, whether you’ve been around for years or just found us. I think of the Idles album »Joy As An Act Of Resistance«. So keep being joyful. Be good to each other and we’ll see you out there!
Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well