TEMIC – Terror Management Theory
TEMIC – Terror Management Theory
Season Of Mist
Release Date: 17/11/23
Running Time: 58:54
Review by Oli Gonzalez
8.5/10
Lately, I’ve been spoiled rotten by the embarrassment of riches from the metal community. Especially bands coming from the depths of Seasons Of Mist’s talented roster. Understandably so, I was excited to check out a new band to me, TEMIC, from this particular label. The band itself is still relatively new also. Or quite old, depending on your perspective. See, current members Diego and Eric had met and known each other for quite some time after being part of legendary drummer Mike Portnoy’s Shattered Fortress. They may have shared ideas and jammed together in this time, but mutually agreed it would be fun to be in a band together. Someday. That day came sometime during the pandemic, 2020. The writing sessions became more serious and the band TEMIC was formed, after recruiting further members. Collectively, you could say the band are a supergroup, including ex-members of Haken, Shining, and the mighty Devin Townsend Project. Pretty good musical pedigrees if you ask me! That’s already a pretty exciting prospect. So what to expect from TEMIC? Extreme Metal? Progressive Death? Well I was pleasantly surprised with something very different.
What we have here is a much more Melodic and Modern Technical approach to Metal, relative to what I’ve come to expect from the Season Of Mist label. I see elements of experimentation and Progressive Metal, even Jazz infused elements, all of which will be crucial to forming TEMIC’s unique sound in the future. They can be majestically melodic and have more hooks than a fisherman’s tackle box. Also, they can be very aggressive and heavy, but without the need for pointless drop tunings and heavy guttural vocals; components you’d typically think of when you think of ‘heavy’. In fact, I don’t recall lead vocalist Fredrik using any heavy or distorted vocals throughout the album. If he did, it would have been very subtle or sparsely used. Much in the same way Tesseract and Leprous would conduct their business. This ‘heavy without drop tunes and gutturals’ approach is perhaps most prominent in ‘Mothallah’, an absolute groove-fest and one that’s going to get your head banging and feet moving. And if that doesn’t get you moving, ‘Count Your Losses’ certainly will. And honestly, if that doesn’t either, then you might just be a cyborg with no sense of rhythm or beat!
One pretty cool melodic hook for me would have been during ‘Skeletons’. When I was younger, I played a little classical guitar. I tried and failed miserably in learning the famous ‘Asturias’ piece. Still, I recognise the melody anywhere and noticed TEMIC’s pretty cool modulation of it in this track. Now with that music nerd moment out of the way, back to the review!
‘Falling Away’ is amongst one of the highlights of this album for me. This is more of a synth/electronically driven song, giving what seems to be more of a dramatic and cinematic feel. I’m usually concerned when bands appear to be overly reliant on synths in their sound, but I think TEMIC have got the right balance of them being a supplement to the other ‘human’ instruments without overshadowing them. ‘Friendly Fire’ stood out to me also. It’s an instrumental, which gives guitarist Eric creative freedom and shows off his impressive skills in an extended solo!
So, there certainly is a lot to admire on this album, and I’ve only really provided a whistle stop tour. This is certainly an album for Progressive Metal fans, leaning towards the more modern and melodic edge. Whether that’s Tesseract, Polaris, or Devin Townsend Project, there’ll be something to satisfy you. Casual music fans will find something for them here too, given I feel it is a more radio friendly and accessible sound. The production values are also through the roof, which would add instant quality to any radio playlist!
Overall, this is a solid debut record. This is surely going to create a huge noise when it does become available to the public on November 17th. My only concern; where next from here? They’ve set the bar very high for themselves. But given that all of this started with just a simple conversation several years ago, I’m sure TEMIC can go very far in this industry.
TRACKLISTING:
01. TMT
02. Through the Sands of Time
03. Falling Away
04. Count Your Losses
05. Skeletons
06. Acts of Violence
07. Friendly Fire
08. Paradigm
09. Once More
10. Mothallah
LINE-UP:
Fredrik Bergersen – Vocals
Eric Gillette – Guitars and Backing Vocals
Simen Sandnes – Drums and Percussion
Diego Tejeida – Keyboards and Sound Design
LINKS:
Disclaimer: This review is solely the property of Oli Gonzalez and Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this review, unless you have the strict permission of both parties. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.
