This Australian band have been blasting the metal scene since around 2002. They are female fronted and filled with much aggression. After seeing them live, Genevieve handed me their CD, ‘Masquerade’ for review. It's a bit of an old one having been made in 2007. Live, I thought they were brilliant, so let’s now see how their recording fares.
Deadline – The introduction to this album is met with heavy, controlled guitar. In come the drums and the fun begins. The overall sound to the style is drawn from an old school metal era. This is instrumental until 02:15 when Genevieve’s strong vocals explode into the track. You would be forgiven to think this song had really only just begun but this is actually the end of the track.
“The darkness surrounds me, It’s pulling me under...”
Prisoner Of The Day – Straight into this next track and the pace picks up. The vocals are clean and oh so strong in their delivery. She has such a good vocal tone; it is pleasant on the ears and not whiny chick vocals. The guitars play melodic rhythms and rhythmic leads. The drums are excellent with their use of double kick drumming. There are some back up male death vocals too which work well. Overall, this is a good track and a great style of metal. It’s clean, strong, well constructed and relayed.
“Catch the sign of an empty mind, Nothing more to say, In your eyes is a truth so blind, As you receive so you betray...”
Masquerade – Temtris don’t kid around and are again straight into this title track. The tempo is well paced and managed with some beefy metal rhythms. The vocals are so well presented, she has a great voice! Genevieve holds some long notes and nicely ends them with a vibrato. The deathly backup vocals help to compliment the overall sound. The sound engineering is pretty good, but they can do better. I think this band is worth perfection in their recordings. Regardless, this is a good track!
“Look into my eyes, Can’t you see, It’s still me...”
Dark Messiah – The start to this track has some nice guitar work. The pace is fast and the drums roll out some welcomed double kick drumming. The good thing about the deathly backups is that they are not overdone. When you concentrate just on the guitar lines, they thrash out some heavy riffs and there is one lead in here at about 02:29 which starts out fairly atmospheric buts ends up in a brief spurt. Another good track!
“Every word I say is truth, Any words you say are lies, All my dreams are holy wars, On the road to paradise...”
Lifeshell – This next song starts out atmospheric with a piano and strings. Soon the guitars blast on in with their beefy rhythm. There is a sudden change in direction at 00:42 with a slower pace. It picks up again only for a brief moment then holds back and slows up again. It’s a rather angsty track in this respect, keeping you on your toes. At any second you expect to start thrashing out in a violent storm, but my how it deceives. It makes for a powerful track, though I think this comes down to Genevieve’s vocals. I like the atmospheric and set back torturous screams at 03:58, they’re a nice touch.
“Come to me, Come play your part, Voices are calling from out of the dark...”
Kiss Of Death – A good start to this next track with a well paced, heavy intro. The rhythm is consistent throughout the track and you will find yourself nodding along if not jumping around. There is some good lead work within this one. In fact, there is quite a long one and that is always a welcome addition. Their approach to their music has been drawn from some of the great, classic metal bands. It’s got an 80s thrash metal feel to it and utilised it in their own way by taking only the good bits from that era. I think it’s what makes this band so good.
“Can you save me from myself, Because I can’t escape this living hell, Can you take me far away, Tell me why we have to live this way...”
Innocence Surrendered – A bass line lures us into this next track, complimented by a faded in, clean guitar melody. A distorted guitar rhythm appears briefly to introduce the vocals. The pace to this song is moderate but upbeat. Each instrument has been balanced well in this production, so you can hear each part clearly. There is a good guitar lead in here at about 02:46 until 03:41. Overall, this is another good track for what is shaping up to be a good album.
“Innocence I surrender, Darkness hides a web I can’t see, Hypnotised by a deadly kiss, Desire fighting in me...”
The Hunger – A gentle guitar melody leads us into this instrumental. A slow, sorrow filled guitar lead compliments the melody. At 01:33 the lead begins to relay the sounds of frustration and turns into an angst ridden lead. The end consists of that original gentle melody.
Prophecy – This is the second last track on the album and it possesses a beautiful brutality. The drums are double kicking away as the guitar chomp out some heavy rhythms. The strong vocals keep you in your place, uncontrollably approving each note with your head. It’s a great track; very upbeat and lively.
“Reach out for a fading sunset, Hold back the rushing tide, Tomorrow hides amongst the sand, Bring back machines of violence, On wings of steel to ride, One trigger waits for eager hands...”
Ashes And Rain – Here we have the final track on the album and it starts out by drenching us in the rain. A heavy guitar march lines us up in preparation for this final musical assault. Once we have all dutifully lined up, we are at Temtris’s mercy. Double kick drums hammering away, guitars tearing through the notes and vocals keeping us entranced. We are left standing in the rain as we awaken from our trance wondering where we have been for the last 40 minutes.
“Hey, You’ve forsaken us, The forgotten ones, Are you laughing now, Do you know what we’ve done...”
In essence, this is a good metal album. It takes you back to some classic metal sounds yet keeping you within the present. They really have utilised the good bits from their influences and made it their own. No one instrument is overdone or over complicated. It’s just good, plain, solid metal as it should be. The CD I received is the in-store version. The front cover depicts an animated, scantily clad, femme figure resting a sword on her shoulder and holding a mask in the other hand. The CD sleeve has all the lyrics and individual band pictures with corresponding names and positions. It also includes a whole band picture along with the thanks and band information. On the back of the CD sleeve is a track listing. On the very back of the CD is another track listing. Both these track listings are the same scene with an animated sword piercing the mask which stains the snow laden floor below. The CD itself is black with their logo, name and title imprinted in red upon it. Overall, the packaging is great and the content is just as good. This is a fine representation of this band with great presentation to be shown to the world. Check them out at the links below.
LINKS
Temtris Myspace
Temtris Facebook
Review by Déa di Morté © 22 June 2011
All pictures and lyrical extracts courtesy of Temtris