Temperance – CD Review
The Earth Embraces Us All

CD Info
2016
Scarlett Records
11 Tracks
English Lyrics
Italian Lyrics (one song)

Temperance, the Italian Melodic, Heavy Metal Band has released its third full length album titled, The Earth Embraces Us All. Known for their driving metal beat and sometimes soaring melodies, the band has ventured into new areas in the music genre. In addition, Temperance has shown that they are not satisfied with just maintaining the status quo; instead they are showing growth and maturity with their exploration. Part of that growth and maturity is shown through the length of the songs. Some are quite long, but are so well planned and played that the listener is still captivated by the music and lyrics. By adding some interesting guest musicians, certain songs have a unique sound, which enhances the original band and vocals.

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. Three of the members are previous members of the power metal band Bejelit, which existed from 2000-2013. Chiara, as the female vocalist, has contributed to the success of the band. The band released their first full-length album Temperance in 2014 and Limitless in 2015.

Some have compared Temperance’s sound to the Swedish melodic metal band Amaranthe, and they have similar backgrounds, which is not bad. Female vocalists Chiara Tricarico (RavenWord), is joined by Bassist Liuk Abbott (The Ritual, ex-Bejelit), and Lead Guitarist and Lead/Backup Vocalist (Clean and Growls) Marco Pastorino (Light Emitter Death, Secret Sphere, The Ritual, HateTyler, ex-Bejelit, ex-Ivory, ex-Shining Fury, ex-Timesword). With Sandro Capone’s departure, Giulio Capone (5th Element, Betoken, Wild Steel, ex-Bejelit, ex-Drakkar, ex-Pandaemonium, ex-From the Depths) is the drummer and completes the band. Guest musicians for this album include Giovanni Lanfranchi on violin, Ruben Paganelli on saxophone, and Daniele Bicego on flute and Uilleann pipes. The band has touring experience in Europe, the West Coast of the United States, including opening for Nightwish in June, and is touring Europe this fall.

The opening song, “A Thousand Places,” is the third longest song on the album and shows a wide variety of sounds. The sound is different at the beginning, but changes frequently throughout. It opens with a synthesized pulsating ostinato, which leads into a staccato sound from the band with the violin playing the melodic line above it. This gives way to the guitar playing the melody, joined with a countermelody played by the bass. The piano then takes up the melody. Before the vocals begin, the violin plays an extended solo over the driving guitars and drums. Chiara voice is strong and very melodic and matches well with Marco, who enters in the second verse. Underneath the vocals, is a driving, up tempo rhythm that is played by the instrumentalists. Toward the end of the song, the melody is taken up once again by the violin, which is then handed off to the saxophone at the end.

“At the Edge of Space” starts with a unison three note pattern played by all the instruments including the choral part. Then starts the driving metal beat that leads into Chiara’s vocals. Her voice is strong and the chorus joins her. The opening returns as an interlude before the second verse and chorus part. Next there is a semi-fugue part between her and the other band members. This leads to a symphonic metal section with lots of keys. Marco enters with a soft voice before changing to a heavier metal sound. Over his voice is a counter melody by the keys. This changes to a heavier metal chords changing and then the symphonic sound takes over with plenty of keys over a light drum beat. Chiara enters again over the driving beat. The ending involves a nice, very jazzy piano solo totally different than the rest of the song.

The song “Unspoken Words,” opens with a slight lilt to it and has a video made by the band. With the violin playing the opening, it has a slight Irish Dance flavor to it. The violin plays the opening with a steady drum beat underneath it. This leads to the guitars entering and then the vocals starting with Marco. Here his voice is strong, yet there is a vulnerable aspect as well. The beat continues underneath his vocals, with a countermelody over him by keys. The song crescendos and Chiara enters with a choral part. The violin takes over and then she sings the next verse. The choral aspect again enters during the chorus. The bridge brings out little snippets played by different instruments, including a short piano solo, before the violin brings back the original theme. A massive string/keys parts leads to Chiara repeating the chorus and the violin over the driving drum beat ends the song. The video can be viewed here.

“Empty Lines” opens with distorted guitar and a driving drum beat. Synthesized keys enter and this leads to the female vocals. Interesting here is the instruments playing an offbeat rhythmic pattern to the vocal melody during the verse. The chorus involves the band members and is very driven. There is a lot of energy to this song, which continues throughout the song. The interlude is similar to the opening and so is the second verse with the offbeat rhythm. There is a little vocal back and forth between Chiara and the choral members. Two thirds of the way through the song is nice, extended guitar solo. Synthesized keys and the choral members take over which lead to Chiara’s next entrance. The song ends with a short guitar duet, and keys.

“Maschere” is quite different from the other songs on the album. First it is sung in Italian and Chiara’s vocals are quite nice in her native tongue. This song has a ballad quality to it even though there is a driving beat underneath throughout. The drum enters before the vocals and it is a standard rock beat. Chiara seems the most comfortable while singing, and her voice is very expressive. A choral part is a nice counter to her vocals. In the middle of the song is a nice guitar solo. The last part of the song, Chiara’s vocals are strong and the song becomes more metal, including the part song by Marco, which then ends the song.

The song “Haze” is a fast paced, hard driving metal song that shows many different aspects of Chiara’s vocal abilities. She is singing words at a blistering pace in some parts of the song, sustaining words at other times, and using her vocal range throughout. Also keeping up that torrid pace through most of the song is the drummer and at times the guitarist. In the opening, she does a call and response with herself. Later in the song, she repeats the call and response, but this time with the chorus of band members. The interlude between the verses is provided by the instrumentalists. Toward the end of the song, there is a vocal fugue with Chiara and the band members. Before the final verse, there is a symphonic like instrumental lead in. The instruments end the song rather abruptly. “Fragments of Life” opens with heavy guitar with synthesized keys. Marco opens the vocals and then gives way to Chiara who continues the vocals. A chorus, made up of the band members, join in from time to time. The band plays a traditional metal beat underneath her vocals. A nice change occurs later in the song, when the melody is played by the piano with a countermelody by an acoustic guitar and the violin. The end of the song is similar to beginning except the very end is played by the piano.

“Revolution” starts out with keys, drums, and guitars playing a staccato, four note theme, which leads to the vocal chorus. Chiara enters and then she and the chorus pass the word “Revolution,” back and forth before Marco takes up the vocals. The female vocals are, at times, at her upper range. Halfway through, the song, thanks to the violin, playing over a soft, drum part, takes on a Middle East sound. Chiara follows this up with perhaps her sweetest, most melodic lyrics on the album. The next time she sings, there is a harder edge to her voice. The song comes full circle with the ending similar to the opening. “Change the Rhyme” can be classified as a ballad/anthem as it has characteristics of both. The opening is rock like with the traditional rock beat under the guitar and violin. This gives way to the acoustic guitar accompanying soft, emotional vocals by Chiara. A piano joins in, taking over for the guitar. The beat returns to rock as her voice is stronger. The next part has the instruments, except for the drums, playing a staccato ostinato on the offbeat. She returns to the sweet vocals, and this leads to Marco’s entrance in the song. The interlude is a solo violin accompanied by the piano. Then Chiara returns with the strong vocals and a soft piano ends the song.

The song that almost made my favorite is “Advice From A Caterpillar.” This song pays homage to the Alice in Wonderland story. It opens with the violin and keys over a steady drum beat. Next, it takes on a symphonic metal song with a driving drum beat. The female vocals are rather melodic, straightforward, as the story is told. Underneath is a traditional drum beat. In the chorus, her voice becomes stronger and she rises toward her upper range. A piano interlude leads into an extended fugue like dream sequence between Chiara and Marco. This is interrupted by the violin playing ascending and descending patterns over the beat. The male vocalist enters with scream-like lyrics. A change of pace is introduced with a bell ostinato. Against this is a vocal chorus singing “lahs.” After a short pause, we have a jazz feel to the song with an extended saxophone solo over the piano and bass. The bass has some nice short riffs in this section. The driving metal returns before the female vocalist enters again. She then whispers some lyrics over the piano. Distorted guitars take over and Marco enters again. Chiara returns with super strong vocals before the song dies out.

“The Restless Ride,” which happens to be to be the last song and the longest, has my vote as favorite. One would think that a song this long would lose the listener, but, far from it. This song is a combination of different genres blended masterfully while not detracting from each genre. From the simplistic beginning, the listener goes for “a ride,” no pun intended, through metal, a classical chorus, before a simple ending. The opening reminds me of a film score with low, sustained notes, some choral part, and a piano playing repeated notes, sometimes the same one before descending to the lower sounds. Next there is a calliope like sound that introduces the symphonic metal sound. Over a driving metal beat, Chiara presents strong, clear vocals. At times, she is joined by the vocal chorus. After two strong verses, and a short interlude, the beat changes for her next vocals. The keys and guitar bring in Marco who matches Chiara vocally. He then sings over a vocal chant. Underneath all of this is a controlled, steady beat from the band. Halfway through the song seems to end, until we hear the piano providing a nice countermelody while the flute plays the melody. The guitar takes over the melody, at times with a duet. Add some nice descending bass riffs, along with a Bach like choral fugue, and the listener probably wonders if this is the same group. However, another change and we have the hard, driving metal return and Marco enters with harder, crisp vocals. There is a back and forth with the guitar, which then takes over the melody. Next, the violin takes over the melody, which leads to Chiara’s next entrance. The driving metal sound returns and we have more of the vocal chorus. This leads to the chorus taking over the melody, and Chiara provided a countermelody in her upper register. A lovely piano solo ends the song

Since I reviewed the previous album by Temperance, I sort of expected this one to be similar. However, I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised with The Earth Embraces Us All. While this album has some of the characteristics that define the band, there is so much more here that show their willingness to explore new genres and mature musically. The length of some of the songs, which would cause problems for some bands, is handled masterfully by the band. Fans of Temperance and Symphonic Metal will definitely want to add this album to their libraries. Those who want an album with upbeat, driving rhythms and tempo should also consider adding this album. More information about the band can be found at the following links:

www.temperanceband.com
www.facebook.com/temperanceofficial

9.8/10

• Prev
• Next