Sydney based metal people Temtris have recently released a new record. Rapture is a mixture of old and new, with inspirations from all around the world to delight and amaze. Let me tell you what I thought.
First off, something that stuck out was that, to me, the mastering was a bit off. It’s not like it was badly mixed or anything, all the instruments do sound appropriately balanced and levelled with each other. It’s just…as a whole the mix sounded like it lacked punch, as if I was listening to it on a $10 pair of headphones. It wasn’t 100 percent clear either as, when I really cranked the volume up, I could hear definite aliasing distortion. Honestly it could just be down to the digital review copy I received, so I’ll be keen to listen again if I get it on CD. Are CDs still a thing? I hope so, I can’t exactly play vinyl in my car these days.
Thankfully the songs themselves are awesome. Having personally never heard Temtris’s music before, they sound like some of the classic records by bands like Accept and Helloween. You couldn’t quite call it thrash or power or whatever, but it’s like a ‘best of’ of everything. Their singer Genevieve Rodda in particular has a unique voice that would feel completely at home on an 80’s Warlock album. I know I’m referencing a lot of German bands, but Temtris do sound like they wouldn’t be out of place if they’d formed in the dodgier parts of Hamburg.
Rapture opens with the title track, appropriately called Rapture. It’s a nice slow intro song with some really cool harmonised guitars. It’s like the overture to a rockin’ sci-fi movie yet to be made, supplementing the yellow exposition text that explains the film’s scenario. It makes it sound like things are about to explode, which they do on Flames Of Defiance. This one is a great album opener and really showcases what they can do. It really encapsulates their style in a single song, emphasising that blend of European influenced music and giving it that uniquely Australian twist.
Wings Of Death takes a completely different approach to Flames of Defiance. It comes in at a meaty seven minutes and in terms of heaviness goes full uranium, as if they’d temporarily gone full death metal. I was not expecting it and, while an ok track, would probably be best placed at around the midpoint of the LP. It does hit you like a sledgehammer. The next song, Run, seems much more in line with the rest of the album. It’s also the single with a music video, which is appropriately set on a stony beach (the most metal kind). It really shows off the sheer power of Rodda’s voice, which soars above all. It’s simply magnificent.
Serpent has a great mix of movements, with multiple quiet sections that lull you into a false sense of security before the rockening happens. Oh man I love the rhythm section in this song; that bass and kick combo is so groovy it really gets my juices flowing. I’m actually headbanging at my laptop while writing this sentence. And this sentence too. Parasite is probably the record’s fastest track. I would have called it my favourite song, as I’m a bit of a sucker for angry fast songs. There’s some super tight drumwork too, which is a sheer pleasure to listen to. Give me all those triplets and blast beats! Breathe is also quite fast, but in a different way that’s hard to explain. Intense? Majestic? In any case, this is also my favourite song.
I was pleasantly surprised to find out that Rapture has a full-blown ballad on it. Sure, Carry You ain’t exactly Three Times A Lady, but it’s infinitely more interesting. If there’s one thing we always need more of, it’s power ballads like this. This one in particular has so much sorrow in it, it actually makes your heart break. I’d actually like Lionel Richie more if he was as metal as Temtris. Can someone out there start a metal Commodores cover band please?
This was an interesting album to listen to. I was initially put off by the quality of my review copy, but it seemed that as I played Rapture over the course of my sitting, I got more and more into it. This one is definitely a grower and worth the time investment.
TRACKLIST
Rapture
Flames Of Defiance
Wings Of Death
Run
Serpent
Parasite
Breathe
Carry You
Fight
Rise Of Dawn
