Temperance - CD Review
Limitless

CD Info
2015
Scarlet Records
13 Tracks
English Lyrics

When you add a young female singer to a group of seasoned metal performers, you end up with Temperance; a melodic heavy metal band from Italy. This band is releasing their second full length album, Limitless, in as many years. This album features two different styles. The beginning features a Pop-like style with the metal and the last half of the album is more of a power, melodic, heavy metal style. In addition, there is a strong band chorus present throughout. With abundant energy, excellent guitar riffs, and catchy lyrics, Limitless, is sure please the melodic metal fan.

The band, Temperance, began in 2013 from multiple locations in Italy, including Arona, Piedmont/Milan, and Lombardy. However, this band from the beginning has shown that it is not a novice band. Having over ten years of experience in the Metal Genre is a definite plus for them. Four of the members, essentially the core, are previous members of the power metal band Bejelit, which existed from 2000-2013. The addition of a female singer provides the present band. The band released their first full-length album Temperance in 2014 and a single from the new album earlier this year.

Some have compared Temperance’s sound to the Swedish melodic metal band Amaranthe, and at times there are some similarities, which is not a bad comparison. Female vocalists Chiara Tricarico (RavenWord), is joined by Bassist Liuk Abbott (The Ritual, ex-Bejelit), and Lead Guitarist and Backup Vocalist (Clean and Growls) Marco Pastorino (Light Emitter Death, Secret Sphere, The Ritual, HateTyler, ex-Bejelit, ex-Ivory, ex-Shining Fury, ex-Timesword). Brothers Sandro and Giulio Capone complete the band. Sandro (ex-Bejelit) provides the rhythm guitar, along with some vocals, and Giulio (5th Element, Betoken, Wild Steel, ex-Bejelit, ex-Drakkar, ex-Pandaemonium, ex-From the Depths) is the drummer. The band has some touring experience in Europe and the West Coast of the United States.

Opening with “Oblivion,” the album introduces the beginning of the band’s foray into expanding their trademark sound. The song begins with piano and a children’s chorus. After adding some synthesized sounds, the metal aspect kicks in starting with the guitars and drums. Chiara brings her power metal vocals in the beginning before showing her operatic abilities in the chorus. The song continues back and forth between the verse and chorus. Later the children’s chorus returns along with a nicely played melodic guitar part. Parts of the song, including the vocal style and melodic guitar show an expansion of the group beyond the power metal sound.

“Amber and Fire” has a definite Pop flavor to it and features a strong band chorus. Chiara’s vocals are very strong on this song, and the musicianship is topnotch. The song “Save Me” has a faster and heavier beat to it. Her vocals are perhaps the strongest on this song and we are treated to Marco’s growls for the first time. The piano opens the Pop-like ballad, “Stay.” The lyrics and vocals have a much softer side to them even though at times there is a strong metal beat to the song. Even the small chorus adds a lighter touch to the song. There is a nice guitar solo with harmony and Marco’s growls are softer at the end of the song.

The other two songs, on the front side of this album, which are in the same vein as the previous songs, are “Mr. White” and “Here and Now.” “Mr. White” is a definite tribute to the hit TV show, Breaking Bad. A nice touch to the song is Sandro providing the male vocals. There are some nice guitar riffs and an interesting chorus. The song’s pace keeps one’s foot moving. Chiara’s vocals seem effortless while Sandro’s are good, although he does seem to be stretching for the notes in the upper register. “Here and Now” reminded me the most, because of the sound and style, of Amaranthe. This song opens with the female vocals and synthesized arpeggios before giving away to Marco growls. The female vocals are very popish. After the male growls, Chiara’s softer vocals soar over synthesized chords. The bass is prominent, along with the piano before giving way to the guitar and drums Even though the song has a harder metal edge to it, if I close my eyes and didn’t know that it was Temperance, I would almost believe that I was hearing that Swedish Pop Metal Band.

“Me, Myself & I” is the first song on the album that showcases the original Power Metal side of the instrumentalists. After opening with staccato synthesized notes and Chiara’s smooth vocals, the power guitars and drums take over. Her vocals become much stronger, especially in the chorus, in which the band joins. There is plenty of energy in both the instrumental and vocal parts, with some interesting male shouts in the chorus. The guitar solo is tastefully done and the punctuated chords later in the song are very tight, showing the experience of the band. This leads to the end of the song featuring the second bass solo in the album. This song has been released as a single earlier this year and has a video which can be seen here.

The song, “Side by Side” opens from the very beginning with a heavy metal beat plus a symphonic twist. There are some interesting counter beats provided at times in the drums and the vocals are strong and steady. The growls are a nice change in the song and suddenly, for a short time, we have a synthesized series of notes before the vocals return. The song ends with a guitar extended note.

“Goodbye” is the one song in the second half that is a metal ballad. After starting with the drums and an extended guitar solo, we have the second chance to hear Marco’s clean vocals. The female vocals are soft and in the strong part of her vocal register. The chorus is strong and helps tighten the song. Toward the end, we have vocals approaching the upper register briefly. The song, “Burning,” opens with a synthesized melody and then gives way to the metal guitar and drums. Chiara is again in her strong register and there is some nice vocal dialogue with the male vocalist. Perhaps the best guitar solo on the album is played in this song, and it ends with the synthesized notes.

“Get a Life,” features some of Chiara’s harshest, lower register vocals in the album. Overall the song is very fast paced, especially the chorus. As an interesting change, there is an interlude that includes the piano, synthesizer, and steady drum beat. The melodies are very prominent in this song, whether they are female or male. While everyone is performing at their max, the vocals still remain strong over the instruments.

The title track, “Limitless,” is the last song. This song opens with keys and power guitar chords. After that come light keys and driving guitars with drums. Marco opens with his trademark growls and Chiara vocals are nice and clear. Later we are treated to some nice clean male vocals. There is strong, fast-paced metal beat underneath. Toward the end of the song, there is a clear and crispy clean guitar solo with punctuated drum beats, non-traditional, underneath. The male and female vocals complement each other throughout. The ending has a series of staccato guitar chords and drum beats with synthesizer over top.

“Omega Point” is my favorite song from this album, even though it was a tough choice. All the songs are very good. Besides having an outstanding choral response, this song features excellent vocals from both Marco and Chiara. The neat part is Marco’s vocals are clean and carry an emotional side to them. Chiara’s voice is overarching and she sustains the notes with clarity against the strong chorus. All of this occurs over the driving instrumental parts, including a brief, nicely played guitar solo. The strong guitar, bass, drums and key ostinato open the song before giving way to Marco. He is then joined by Chiara for a brief harmony, and then she takes over leading into the chorus. The second verse is hers alone and she showcases a slightly operatic style briefly. Besides being very strong and well played instrumentally, the band chorus provides excellent support throughout the song. The song ends softly with the keys playing a repeated melodic synthesized string part.

Limitless is a very good album especially for fans of Melodic Power Metal. I look forward to bands that like to experiment and expand their styles of music. Frankly, I am surprised at the excellent quality of this album, with this being their second full-length one. Temperance, as a band, shows and proves that they are seasoned metal performers. The addition of Chiara, with her many vocal styles, is a definite plus for them. This album is full of pulsating drums, soaring and floating melodies, as well as catchy guitar riffs, and excellent keys. Temperance has definitely arrived on the metal scene. For additional information on the band, please check out the following links:

www.temperance.it
www.facebook.com/temperanceofficial

9.5/10

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