Universal Temple Of Divine Power -High Octane Blues Boogie Rock

Okay, granted the name of this Detroit 4 piece sounds more suited to members of some Jim Jones styled suicide cult, but this band from the Motor City worships at the altar of early 70's blues based rock. Think Humble Pie, Cactus, Mountain and Grand Funk Railroad mixed with high octane blues boogie and you might get an approximation of what to expect on the band's debut release 'Hand Of God'.

Formed in 2005, the Universal Temple of Divine Power consists of Chuck Burns of Speedball, Skeemin No Goods and Seduce fame, as well as former Kingsnakes, Elliott Moses and Chris Andrews. Art McCauley rounds out the band as the fourth member. Their mutual love of gospel, blues, soul and early rock-n-roll shines through in their creation of authentic, powerful, Detroit-style rock.

They have enjoyed sharing the stage with local bands like the Sights, the Muggs, the Howling Diablos, the Hotness, CRUD, Nova Driver, the Flask and many more. The national acts they have shared the stage with include Blue Cheer, Starship, Big Head Todd and the Monsters, Mark Farner and ? Mark and the Mysterians.

Real Detroit’s Jeff Milo can be quoted as saying, “The band delivers intense passionate sermons on the gospel of raw blues rock, psychedelic soul and transcendent beautiful guitar solos. Making rock feel ceremonious again.”  While Rachel May of the Free Press and Broadzilla  has equally complimented them, “ they’re flawless, furious and sincerely soulful.”  Eve Doster of the Metro Times has said they are “perfectly poised to be future torchbearers of  the Motor City’s regenerating music scene.”

The bottom line is if you dig the blues and you love to rock, this one's a no brainer.  Guitarist Danny Methric of The Muggs turned me on to this band, and if you're into heavy 70's styled blues rock filled with tons of hot guitar work, this is an album for you.

Check out the band's MySpace page for some of the sounds on the album, and 4 of the tracks from the disc, along with an unreleased live version of the title track can be had for free legal download.

http://www.myspace.com/theuniversaltempleofdivinepower