2007-05-28
Swish metallers Tempesta's second release is a surprisingly slick release that combines black album area
Metallica heaviness and vocals with American hard rock and some more European sounding melodic elements. It's all quite well put together, and mostly comes off strong and coherent.
The title track is also probably the album's best, it sounds like a groove thrash number with a catchy group-vocal chorus, the vocals are early Hetfield, with a nice crunch to them, and the playing here is top notch, nice guitar riffs, solid bass floor and dynamic drumming. "Stagedive" is another good song, but it also brings in what is the only problem I had with this release, the infusion of softer elements, though the whole piano-guitar thing that track has going on works well, in other, softer track it just doesn’t work, with "Grow" easily being the weakest track on the album because if it.
Thankfully, it's mostly heavier, hard rocking stuff here, "Ain't Gonna Tell You" is a good example of why the album works - simple and catchy melodies, a good chorus, and strong guitar work. This is American sounding hard rock that just sounds right for the band. They still bring in some heavier, almost thrash-like guitars in some of the songs, but the basis is still classic hard rock, and it works.
A few mentions should go to the production team - the album sounds fantastic, just the right sound for the album and the kind I like most for this music; clear and strong with a good emphasis on the drums. Another bonus is the cover, a great painting that does the music justice.
To Surmise, A highly enjoyable album for melodic metal lovers, it has very few glitches, and makes for quite a fun ride indeed.
Alon Miasnikov
