DippoMagoo For the past six years, one thing I’ve always been able to count on is Italian melodic metal band Temperance delivering an excellent album. I’ve been a fan since the release of their debut, back in 2014, and subsequent releases such as The Earth Embraces Us All and Of Jupiter and Moons have only blown me away more and more. At this point, the band has become one of my all-time favorites, and so every time I hear they’re releasing a new album, I heavily anticipate getting to hear it for the first time. Their sixth full-length release, Viridian, has just recently been released, and as expected, it’s yet another excellent modern melodic metal release, with plenty of addictive, super-catchy choruses, awesome vocal melodies and tons of high-speed power metal. The most impressive thing about the band’s previous release was that they had gone through the biggest lineup change of their career, so far, losing two of their most important members, yet they managed to not only avoid a letdown but somehow managed to release quite possibly their best release to date. With the same lineup from that release being back for Viridian, I was excited to see what they would do next, and whether or not they could find a way to up the ante once again.

It turns out, they haven’t quite pulled it off this time, though Viridian is still an excellent release, as always. I’ve always compared the band to the likes of Amaranthe and the past three Dynazty albums, but on past albums I found their music to always be more complex, more unique and overall more memorable, compared to any of their competition. With Viridian, it feels like the band has simplified things further than ever before, focusing entirely on the catchiness, vocal harmonies, and melodic hooks, and while they’ve certainly pulled all of that off as well as ever, it does feel like the songwriting creativity has taken a slight hit, falling more closely in line with similar bands, instead of surpassing them, as usual.

For the most part, the album is stylistically similar to past releases, being a mix of modern melodic metal, plenty of speedy power metal, some trance elements, some alternative riffs, and lots of modern-sounding keyboards all over the place. The songwriting, though, feels like it’s been stripped down to the absolute basics, which has led to a surprisingly straight-forward album, compared to their past two releases, in particular, which showed the band fully evolving their sound. In particular, the symphonic elements feel like they’ve been dialed back a great deal, not feeling overly prominent aside from on a couple of tracks, while the trance-like keyboards have become more prominent and noticeable than ever before. All of this works well, and performances are excellent across the board, with the three vocalists Alessia Scolletti, Michele Guaitoli, and Marco Pasterino all excelling, while the instrumental work is all excellent, as always, and the production is perfect, as always. However, everything just feels a bit more ordinary, compared to past albums, and while there are some amazing songs here, as always, the album overall seems to be missing the sort of special spark past albums had.

While Viridian doesn’t quite live up to past releases, it still has plenty of excellent tracks, as usual. The album kicks off with the lead single “Mission Impossible”, a track which nicely illustrates what to expect from the album on the whole. It’s a fairly mid-paced track, with some pretty heavy, modern-sounding riffs, as well as plenty of fun trance keys, entertaining verses and a huge, super catchy chorus, where the two main vocalists Scolletti and Guaitoli get to shine. It’s an excellent, very fun track, but it’s not quite as memorable or special as any of the opening tracks on past albums. Next is “I Am the Fire”, a faster-paced track, which feels much closer to classic Euro power metal than most of their other songs. It’s another very fun track, with excellent alternating vocals, some nice melodic guitar work, and some nice keys, which are largely relegated to the background. The chorus is fun, but fairly understated by Temperance standards, and overall it’s an excellent track, with Pasterino’s brief, intense vocal lines towards the end of the track being the clear highlight.

Another very fun and simple track are ‘Start Another Round”, which feels particularly close to Amaranthe, with tons of modern keyboards all over the place, chugging riffs, and one of the catchiest, most addictive choruses of the year so far. It’s another track which makes great use of the two lead vocalists, and while it is very straight-forward, it manages to keep me engaged and thoroughly entertained throughout, so I’d say it does its job well. Next is the second single “My Demon’s Can’t Sleep”, where the band steps up their game to deliver one of their absolute best tracks to date! It’s another quite fast-paced track, which alternates nicely between the two lead vocalists throughout, especially during the chorus, which is absolutely fantastic, intense, melodic and extremely catchy, with some incredible vocal melodies. The highlight of the track, though, is again some very brief, but very powerful vocals from Pasterino in the second half, though the music is awesome throughout, and the instrumental section in the second half is quite heavy, yet very melodic and feels like one of the best instrumental sections on the album.

The momentum keeps up with the title track, another fast-paced, heavily keyboard driven track, with some particularly explosive verses, again with some great alternating vocals, and the chorus is fairly simple but quite effective and catchy. The track makes more use of symphonic elements compared to most tracks on the album, which helps give it more of an epic feel, and that works perfectly. Perhaps the catchiest track of all is “Let It Beat”, a very light and melodic keyboard-driven track, which moves at a nice pace, without ever fully speeding up. It’s a very upbeat track, with an incredible chorus, which features some of the band’s absolute best vocal melodies, and that sure is saying a lot! It’s a very catchy, highly engaging track, and it only gets better as it goes along, with Scolletti’s performance on the final run of the chorus being especially stunning. Next is “Scent of Dye”, the first of two ballads on the album. It has some very nice keyboard melodies, and has an epic feel to it, as well as some awesome vocal harmonies, as always, and its chorus is very beautiful, and another clear highlight. It doesn’t quite reach the level of some ballads I’ve heard in recent years, but it’s an excellent track, with particularly strong vocals and lyrics, as well as a very nice guitar solo in the second half, while the final run through the chorus features some stunning vocals from Pasterino.

Speeding things up, once again, “Cult of Mystery” is one of the fastest, most guitar-driven tracks on the album, with some very heavy guitar work, and some very fun verses. The chorus is solid, but a bit repetitive for my tastes, and the track overall is a lot of fun, with an especially nice melodic guitar solo in the second half, but it never really reaches the heights the band is capable of, while the main keyboard hook is one of the rare times where I find they overdo it, if only slightly. The longest track on the album is “Nanook”, which clocks in at just under 6 minutes. While it’s not one of the band’s longest or most complex tracks ever, it still has quite a lot going on, being largely a speedy power metal track, with some heavy riffs, awesome vocal harmonies and an excellent use of symphonic elements, as well as having some folk melodies and an overall folk feeling to it. The chorus is stunning, and the folk elements are a nice touch, to help it stand out from the pack, while the instrumental section is very epic and well done. It’s one of the best on the album.

Sadly, the album fizzles out a bit at the end, with the final two tracks being clearly the weakest. The last full-length song is “Gaia”, the second ballad of the album, and while it’s a nice track with some very good piano work and very light guitar melodies, it never reaches the heights of some of the band’s best work and ends up feeling a bit underwhelming. The lyrics are very nice, and the vocals are fantastic, as always, but the song itself just feels like it’s missing something, to take it to the next level. Closing out the album is “Catch the Dream”, and while I had previously thought it was just about impossible for Temperance to make a track I dislike, it has finally happened, unfortunately. The track is A Capella, with the tune provided completely by vocals and clapping. It starts fine enough, but not particularly great, and once the echoing vocals start to kick in, it gets to be pretty annoying. As the track goes on, it only intensifies further, to the point where I always start getting a headache by the end, due to how noisy and how extremely repetitive it is. As much as I love Temperance, I certainly can’t understand why they’d choose to end an album this way, as I find it pretty much completely unlistenable, and I suspect it shall forever be known as by far the worst track they’ve ever released.

Overall, I find Viridian to be a slight disappointment, as it ends the band’s trend of getting better with each release, and instead ends up falling a bit short, but it’s still yet another great release, with plenty of extremely catchy choruses, great instrumental work and some truly outstanding vocals and vocal melodies, as always. Longtime fans of the band should be pleased with it, and while I’d recommend looking into any of their previous releases first, it would still be a solid starting point for any melodic metal fans or power metal fans, looking for a great album with some awesome vocal performances. Despite not living up to the band’s previous works, it’s still likely to be one of the best melodic metal albums released in 2020, for sure, and I hope the band can blow me away again, on future releases.

originally written for myglobalmind.com: https://myglobalmind.com/2020/01/25/temperance-viridian-review/

DippoMagoo In what has been a year full of surprises so far, it’s nice to finally have something that’s largely unsurprising, while still managing to feel refreshing and energizing at the same time. Obviously, Italian melodic metal band Temperance have been one of my favorites in their field ever since they released their self-titled debut in 2014, with their two subsequent releases only impressing me even more, to the point where they quickly became one of my favorite bands and one I could consistently depend on to deliver amazing new music within a short of amount of time. Sadly, all good things must eventually come to an end, and so just as the band had seemingly reached their peak, vocalist Chiara Tricarico and keyboardist/drummer Giulio Capone both left in between albums, leaving the two remaining members to find new bandmates and start over. Somehow, though, the band has not only continued on, but now with their new lineup they are set to release their fourth full-length album, Of Jupiter And Moons, an album that continues their streak of amazing albums, and while it’s a much different beast from its predecessor, The Earth Embraces Us All, it’s very much on the same level, and n some ways even more enjoyable and immediately engaging.

Even with a new lineup, the overall sound is still very much what Temperance fans would expect, which is to say the band plays a very modern sounding brand of melodic metal, with trance keyboards being as prominent as ever, and there’s still an emphasis on big vocal melodies and super catchy songwriting. If anything, the songwriting is a bit more straight-forward and even catchier than normal on this album, with many songs having choruses that are sure to be stuck in my head for a very long time, and the melodies are absolutely beautiful, as always. In fact, this album has some of the absolute best melodies I’ve heard on a metal album in quite some time, with everything from the keys, to the ever more prominent symphonic elements to even some of the melodic guitar leads all sounding absolutely gorgeous. At the same time, there’s definitely still some heavy guitar work at points, and the speedy power metal elements are still intact, with many of the tracks being very up-tempo and energetic. While the keyboards are still very noticeable, especially on some of the lighter and slower paced tracks, they don’t feel quite as overpowering this time around, and I definitely notice the symphonic elements even more than on the last album, with them sometimes taking over as the main element of the music, though guitars and keys are still very important throughout. The instrumental work is excellent throughout, with some very memorable solos and excellent melodies and riffs all around, and new drummer Alfonso Mocerino fits in very well, especially on the faster tracks where his drumming is very energetic. The one element that seems to be absent from this release is the melodic metalcore elements, though honestly, that was the one element I always felt could have been removed without much being lost, so its absence doesn’t bother me at all. As always, the production is flawless, and the many elements all sound powerful and perfectly clear.

The one area where I was most concerned going into this album was the vocals because Chiara was such an important part of the band, so I wasn’t sure how the band could replace her. Well, the truth is they didn’t quite replace her at all, so much as they decided to move in a slightly different direction, switching to a three-vocalist approach. While he doesn’t sing as much as before, guitarist Marco Pastorino still occasionally lends his powerful and intense voice in quick bursts, which I find to be very effective, as he uses his vocals to add some extra power and emotion near the end of tracks, most noticeably on the title track. Most male vocals, though, are handled by current Kaledon vocalist Michele Guaitoli, who has a smooth but very powerful voice, which can get a bit animated at times. He does a great job at taking lead during many tracks, but he’s at his best when singing in harmony with his co-lead, Alessia Scolletti. Speaking of which, Alessia has a very beautiful, very smooth voice, and while she often stays in the midrange and uses lighter, more pop-like vocals, she can get intense at times, providing some powerful vocals in quick bursts. The choruses are the highlight of the album, though, and during these the two often sing together in harmony, with their voices blending together perfectly and sounding amazing together. While I certainly loved Chiara’s vocals, I think the new approach works just as well, and there are certainly a ton of incredible vocal moments throughout the album, some coming from individual performances, and some coming from more of a team effort.

One area where I had very little concern but a lot of interest, was in the songwriting, which has always been one of the band’s major strengths. While the band has lost one of its main songwriters, their winning streak shows no sign of ending anytime soon, as the songwriting here is as catchy, varied and super addictive as ever. This time around, there aren’t any tracks as ambitious as the two epic-length tracks found on the previous album, but everything is consistently amazing, and if anything the shorter run time and amazing melodies and choruses help to make it an album that is easier to play repeatedly over a long period of time. It’s hard to say which approach I prefer, but either way, the band has pulled a more straight-forward approach off to perfection on this album.

Things get off to an exciting start with the stunning opening track “The Last Hope in a World of Hopes”, a track which manages to feel huge and epic, while clocking in at just under 5 minutes. The increased use of symphonic elements is noticeable right from the start, and soon they’re combined with some epic operatic vocals from the two leads in a sequence that quickly speeds up before Alessia eventually takes lead during an epic opening verse. Michele shows up again just before the chorus, and the track speeds up and goes full power for an epic, super catchy and incredibly melodic chorus, which only gets better as the song goes on. Later on, there’s an epic instrumental section where the guitar tone is absolutely beautiful, and this leads to an even more amazing final run of the chorus, that gets the album off to a flying start. The next track, “Broken Promises” is a bit more restrained at first, settling down to a more relaxing pace, with some very light vocals from Michele, but once the chorus hits it quickly picks up again and the trance elements are very noticeable on this track. The chorus is huge, easily one of the most melodic and most stupidly catchy choruses I’ve heard on a metal album in my entire life, and both singers sound amazing. While Michele leads throughout most of the track, Alessia provides some very powerful near the end of the second verse, that elevates the song to even greater heights, and then the final run through the chorus simply takes it out of this world. Probably my favorite track on the whole album, despite being mid-paced and very simple. Those melodies are simply too irresistible and both singers sound amazing.

In case the album wasn’t already off to an amazing start, the title track is up next, and it certainly keeps the momentum going. It opens with some very nice keys, before quickly speeding up, and the verses do a great job of showcasing both singers, with Alessia leading during a lighter opening verse, while Michele leads a much heavier a more intense second verse. The chorus is again amazing, but the highlight of the track is a huge vocal section near the end, where epic backing vocals are used in support of Marco, who makes his first big appearance and delivers some of the most powerful and emotional vocals I’ve ever heard from him. After that barn burner of a track, the pace slows down a bit on “Everything That I Am”, a more melodic track dominated by keyboards and symphonic elements. While it’s a fairly calm track overall, there’s some excellent guitar work in the second half, and there are some excellent melodies throughout, with both singers again delivering powerful performances, and overall it’s another excellent track. The pace quickly picks up again with “We Are Free”, a more typical sounding Temperance track, with a mix of heavy riffs, symphonic elements, trance keys and huge vocal melodies, and it’s more of a very fast paced track with some power metal elements. The chorus is excellent once again, and overall it’s a very fun and energetic track, which keeps the momentum going.

Moving into the second half, “Alive Again” is another lighter track, mostly driven by trance keys, and it’s sung entirely by Michele, who of course does a great job. It has another great chorus, though the best part is a speedy section in the second half where the music really picks up the intensity. On the flip side of that track is “The Art of Believing”, another speedier, heavier track where Alessia takes lead throughout, with male vocals mostly used in a supporting role. It’s yet another energetic track with a super catchy and memorable chorus, with great riffs and a great use of keys and symphonic elements, though its the middle section where the song really takes off, first with an awesome instrumental section that has more of a hard rock feel to it, and then Alessia delivers some of her most emotional and powerful vocals on the entire album, and the final run through the chorus is incredible, as usual. Next is “The Way Home”, another track dominated by trance keys, though it moves along at a nice pace and has some heavy guitar work at points, definitely feeling like it would have fit nicely on any of the band’s past albums. It again has nice duo vocals throughout, and it picks up the intensity as it goes along, speeding up during the second verse and getting better as it goes along, with an epic solo followed by an epic vocal section in the second half.

Nearing the end, the pace slows down one last time for the lone ballad “Empires of Men”, which is an absolute stunner of a track. The backing keys are gorgeous sounding the track is an example of minimalism at its finest, as there’s not a whole lot going on musically, but what’s there sounds beautiful, and the harmonies between the two lead singers are absolutely stunning and they only get better as the track goes on, with the final run through the chorus being absolutely incredible, and possibly the highlight of the entire album. Lastly, we have the longest track on the album, “Daruma’s Eyes (Part 1)”, another heavy and speedy track, where the keyboards have a creepy feel to them and help add a thick atmosphere to an already intense track, while the guitars provide crushing riffs and wonderful melodies in equal measure, and the symphonic elements are kicked up a notch, to help make it one heck of an epic finale. The chorus is amazing the first few times it shows up, but the final run through is by far the best, as Marco shows up again and ends the album with another absolutely brilliant and powerful performance.

I had very high expectations for Of Jupiter And Moons after its predecessor was one of my top 5 albums of 2016, and once again Temperance has managed to blow me away, producing possibly their best release to date. As always, the music represents modern melodic metal at its absolute finest, with a generous helping of power metal, trance, and symphonic elements, to go along with some incredible vocal melodies, excellent musicianship and extremely consistent and sup catchy songwriting. Even with a largely new lineup, the band is still in perfect form, and this is an album I can easily recommend to fans of any kind of melodic metal, as well as power metal fans or anyone wanting to hear some incredible vocal melodies.

originally written for myglobalmind.com: https://myglobalmind.com/2018/03/16/temperance-of-jupiter-and-moons-review/

DippoMagoo Over the past few years, perhaps my favorite melodic metal band of all has been Italy’s Temperance. They started out in 2013, with a lineup that had mostly worked together before in power metal group Bejelit, but they set out to do something a little more modern sounding, something that successfully blended genres together. That’s where their self-titled debut comes in, and while comparisons to Swedish band Amaranthe were immediately obvious (the bands have similar backgrounds,) right from the beginning they showed that they could pull off their own brand of accessible, modern melodic metal while incorporating more traditional metal elements, allowing their music to standout more. Their 2015 sophomore effort Limitless was even more focused on catchy, keyboard driven metal that had quite a bit of mainstream appeal, but again it was the metal elements that allowed it to really shine, and if anything it was an even stronger effort than their already excellent debut. Now in 2016, the band is set to release their third album is as many years, The Earth Embraces Us All. I had very high expectations for this album, naturally, and yet the band managed to blow me away once again, this time by sticking to what worked on their previous albums, while also producing by far their two most ambitious songs to date.

For fans of their previous work, this album won’t seem surprising at first, as all the elements from before are back in full force: It’s still an extremely catchy album, full of hooks and memorable vocal melodies, enhanced by heavy riffs and a ton of electronic sounding keyboards. Likewise, Chiara Tricarico still provides some excellent lead vocals and the songs give her a ton of room to work with as always, while guitarist Marco Pastorino still occasionally chimes in with his ever pleasant clean vocals and fairly solid metalcore screams. Two things initially stand out about this album: First of all, the tempo has been increased further, with the vast majority of the tracks being very fast paced, and the guitars feel even stronger and more prominent than before, especially on heavier tracks like “A Thousand Places”, “Haze” and “The Restless Ride”. I also noticed the increased use of symphonic elements. These have always shown up on Temperance albums, but here the use of orchestral elements feels more prominent than ever before, with the ultra catchy “At the Edge of Space” in particular being dominated by them.

One last big change that takes longer to notice, is the songwriting. At a first glance, this album will feel familiar to fans of their first two, as outside of its extended orchestral opening, “A Thousand Places” is the kind of heavy, modern sounding vocal driven melodic metal the band has always excelled at, complete with excellent vocals from Marco and some very poppy vocals from Chiara during the chorus. This feeling of familiarity carries on throughout the first 2/3 of the album, with everything from the faster paced tracks “At the Edge of Space” and “Empty Lines” and “Revolution” to the very nice ballad “Fragments of Life” all feeling like they would have fit in perfectly on either of their previous albums. Even “Haze”, with its fast paced, breathless vocal lines and heavy use of trance like keyboards feels similar to their work. Which certainly isn’t a bad thing, as they’re all amazing songs and it’s never a bad idea for a band to stick to what they’re best at. The one earlier track that does feel somewhat new is “Maschere”. Musically it’s nothing terribly surprising: It starts out slow and soft, feeling like a ballad, before picking up the tempo during the chorus. What makes it different, though, is that it’s sung entirely in Italian, and while Chiara sounds great in English, getting to hear her sing in her native language is a real treat, and towards the end of the track she delivers some of her best vocals on the album.

It’s towards the end of the album where the band really starts to spread their wings and explore new territories, in impressive ways. Broken up in the middle by another nice ballad in “Change the Rhyme” are the two longest songs the band has written to date. First up is “Advice From a Caterpilar”. It starts off as a fast paced power metal influenced track like usual, dominated by keyboards and featuring a very catchy chorus, but a few minutes in is a very nice piano section, followed by an epic symphonic part where Marco takes over vocals, and from there we get a really nice extended instrumental section. A while into this section, we get some saxophone (which also appears briefly towards the end of“A Thousand Places”) and while it’s usually my least favorite instrumental and can be hard on my ears at times, on this track it actually sounds very nice and provides a surprising and relaxing break from the rest of the track, before the band comes back in and we get some more epic vocal sections. All in all they managed to nail the balance between being catchy and also having enough interesting music to help fill up the 8 minutes the track lasts.

Lastly, we have “The Restless Ride”, a near 13 minute epic I certainly would have never expected to hear from this band. It begins with an extended piano intro, before again turning into the kind of up tempo, keyboard driven modern metal the band excels at, and once again Chiara provides some excellent vocals and the chorus is easily one of the highlights, while the symphonic elements are also in full force. Not quite midway through is an epic part where the symphonic elements take over, and not long after this is an excellent extended instrumental section. After a while the music goes quiet, giving way to an epic choral section, and it almost feels like the song is about to come to an end…. And then we get the most shocking section on the entire album! I won’t spoil it, but suffice to say I was completely stunned the first time I heard it and even had to check to make sure I didn’t accidentally switch to a different album. It’s this ability to provide unexpected and shocking moments in the middle of an already excellent track that has helped helped Temperance reach a whole new level with this album, and once again they manage to provide several memorable, super catchy vocal sections while also filling the track with a ton of surprises and some excellent instrumental work. After the surprising section and more runs through the chorus, the album ends with another extended piano section. Simply put, this is my favorite Temperance song to date, and one of the most impressive songs I’ve heard all year.

I already thought Temperance had stepped up their game big time on Limitless, but with their new release The Earth Embraces Us All, they have surprised me with two of their most ambitious and impressive songs to date, while still providing the kind of catchy, keyboard and vocal driven melodic metal they’re known for. Obviously, this album is a must hear for fans of the band, but I’d also recommend it to any fans of melodic metal who enjoy the use of electronic keyboards and can tolerate or enjoy the screams like I can, as well as anyone who wants to hear two extremely good epic length tracks, something that can be hard for some bands to pull off, but Temperance sure nailed it this time.

originally written for myglobalmind.com: http://myglobalmind.com/2016/09/07/temperance-earth-embraces-us-review/

DippoMagoo When I first heard the 2014 self-titled debut from Italian band Temperance, one other band instantly came to my mind: Amaranthe. With their unique use of three vocalists along with their mix of metalcore, pop and trance (among many other styles,) becoming more and more popular over time, I guess it was only a matter of time before another band adopted a similar sound for their own, and put their own twists on it, which is exactly what Temperance did on their debut. The comparisons go deeper than that: Like Amaranthe, Temperance consists entirely of experienced metal musicians, four of whom were also together in the power metal band Bejelit, and so just like their counterparts, this is a band who have their roots in metal, and are now looking to expand their music into something a bit more accessible and with potential to be more successful commercially. I enjoyed their first album quite a bit, and if anything their upcoming sophomore release Limitless is an even more impressive album, which at times takes them further into a more mainstream sound, while still letting their metal roots shine through.

One thing that instantly separates Temperance from Amaranthe (and I promise I’ll avoid making that comparison any more as I get deeper into the review) is that they tend to let their metal elements take over a lot more. Sure, many tracks on Limitless have massive crossover potential, but every track has at least faint traces of metal, and quite a few of them remain fairly heavy throughout. Another thing I like is that they tend to vary up their songwriting approach a lot, so it doesn’t become overly formulaic and predictable. The first half is much more varied and features a mix of ultra catchy mid tempo keyboard dominated alternative metal tracks with strong pop elements, speedier tracks which mix together power metal melodies along with metalcore riffs and screams, and lighter, slower paced tracks with occasional heavy bursts.. From “Me, Myself & I” onward, the album takes a turn towards a more power metal centric sound, and it’s this portion of the album that I enjoy the most.

As on their debut, vocals are largely handled by lead singer Chiara Tricarico, who continues to be very dynamic in her approach. When she uses her lower register she tends to sound like a pop/rock singer, with her effortless delivery, while her higher notes show off her wonderful vocal tone, and allow her to excel during the speedier sections. At times she even throws in some operatic vocals, most notably during the stunning chorus of the opening track “Oblivion”. Guitarist Marco Pastorino contributes vocals on most tracks as well, sometimes singing clearly with a nice tone that works well on the more pop-ish songs, and sometimes screaming. His core-ish screams represent the one element of the music I could live without, though that’s more because I tend not to like that style of screaming very much, and not an indication of him being bad or anything.

Opening track “Oblivion” starts off with some calm piano notes and some nice choral vocals, before turning a mid tempo alternative metal track, where their main influences become rather obvious. It’s a very modern sounding, largely keyboard dominant track where Chiara uses her more pop-ish vocals throughout the verses, before launching into her awesome operatic voice during the chorus. It’s not one of my favorites tracks on the album, but it is super catchy, and I really love the intense ending sequence, where the tempo briefly picks up. More importantly, it serves as an indication of what to expect, at least for the first half of the album. Out of these more accessible tracks, my favorite is probably “Mr. White”. At a first glance, it’s every bit as simplistic and accessible as “Oblivion”, if not more so, but the riffs are so good and the chorus so addictive, that the song just ends up working. It’s also worth noting that the lyrics for it are clearly based on the hit AMC series Breaking Bad.

The band further demonstrates their ability to write super addictive tracks with metal elements throughout the album, with “Amber & Fire” starting off as a nice melodic metal track with a slight folk feel to it, before turning into something a bit more powerful, while tracks like “Stay” and “Omega Point” initially seem like ballads, before the riffs kick in and the tempo speeds up in the latter part of both tracks. Even the one obvious ballad “Goodbye” briefly speeds up at one point, though on the whole it serves as an excellent showcase for Chiara’s vocals.

Out of the faster, more power metal based songs, my favorite is “Get a Life”. The song features mid tempo verses where Chiara uses her lower vocals in a slightly harsher way than normal, while the chorus is super fast and features my favorite vocal melodies on the album. The fastest track on the first half is “Save Me”, which is a mix of power metal and metalcore. It’s a really fun track overall, and it features probably my favorite use of screams on the album. As mentioned before, aside from “Goodbye:”, every song towards the end is fast paced, with tracks like “Burning” and “Me Myself & I” being more power metal centric like “Get a Life”, while “Side by Side” and the title track mix in offbeat rhythms and occasional screams for a more varied sound. I actually think the title track may be my least favorite on the album, due to the chorus not hitting me as much as all the other choruses, but otherwise it’s a great track which serves as a summary of the album on the whole.

Limitless is an excellent album which showcases the power metal roots of its musicians, while also showing the band branching off further into more of an accessible sound that could appeal to a larger audience. Highly recommended for melodic metal fans like me who don’t mind having some pop elements and a bit of metalcore mixed in with a more traditional power metal sound.

(originally written for myglobalmind: http://myglobalmind.com/2015/03/10/temperance-limitless-review/)