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TEMPTRESS “Catch the Endless Dawn”
TEMPTRESS “Catch the Endless Dawn”
By Colonel Angus
If you have read any of my review as of late, you would know that I am ecstatic that there is a whole new generation of bands that are conjuring up traditional metal that I would put up against much of the material that came from the original wave. One of these newer-ish bands is TEMPTRESS from Italy. They did form about seven years ago but “Catch the Endless Dawn” is their debut…and what a debut it is. This trio of M. Dee (Vocals, Drums), F. Blade (Guitars), and D. Reemer (Bass) certainly did their homework and created an album of tunes that hint at IRON MAIDEN, DIO, and BLUE OYSTER CULT..
The record starts off very promisingly with “Beneath the Waves of Fantasia / Breathe the Dust of Time” which is quite a long title for a pretty straight forward metal tune. It starts off with this keyboard intro but before you know it, it morphs into a great rocker with an infectious riff. I also like the production on the vocals, giving the disk a sound that would not have been out of place in 1985. Things are kicked up a notch or two with the excellent “Dream Metal”. The riffing and stomping rhythm reminds me of DIO’s “Holy Diver”. Just when I thought I had this song figured out, they change gears by putting in some B.O.C. elements with slower passages but before you know it, there is this great MAIDEN gallop thrown in for good measure. All of these elements make the song go by quickly yet it clocks in at over seven minutes. By far, “Dream Metal” is the star of the show on “Catch the Endless Dawn”.
That’s not to say that there isn’t anything to love about the rest of the record. The riffing on “Woman of the Dark” and the title track is both heavy and catchy without going over the top on either component. Plus, the solos are like mini songs in their own right making Blade’s guitar work even more integral to the success of these songs. Just check out the strutting rhythms of “Nightflight over Dreamland” with the multi-layered lead guitar over the top. It might be a challenge pulling that off live but on record, it sounds fantastic.
Let’s not forget the other two members because in a trio, all three musicians are equally important. Dee is a solid drummer who can handle the multiple changes within a song and almost lends a proggy-ness feel to the tracks while Reemer helps lay down the foundation for the other pieces to build on top. Grab a listen to the previously mentioned instrumental “Nightflight over Dreamland” for a great representation of just how good these guys are musically. A lot of metal bands can’t pull off an instrumental but TEMPTRESS manage to do it with ease.
The rest of “Catch the Endless Dawn” is just as good without any of the tunes feeling like filler tracks. There is a cohesion to the whole record with each piece sounding similar but not exactly like the others. Each one of the songs deserves to be on the disk and at approximately forty two minutes, this is the perfect length for an album. I was initially excited to hear this album based on the cover alone. It has on old-school look to it and quite honestly, after the first spin, I was hooked. It may have taken a number of years to finally get TEMPTRESS to release “Catch the Endless Dawn” but it was worth the wait.
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