Release
date: March 31st 2017. Label: Golden Antenna. Format: CD/DD/Vinyl
Tempest
– Tracklisting
First Light
Smoke from Distant
Fires
Celebration of Decay
Echo of Souls
Apparition
Hiraeth
Water Divides the
Tide
Metanoia
Band
Members
Albert Turek
Richard Powley
Teddy-James Driscoll
Review
Telepathy's
sophomore album - Tempest - is much more focused and heavier album
than their celebrated debut album. Telepathy have a much more clearer
vision for their music and I think that's down to their recent live
performances on the International Stage with more of their esteemed
colleagues. Tempest feels like a more personal album to the band as
they create hard hitting emotional post-rock/post-metal passages.
Opening
track - First Light is a sombre ambient/post-rock number that is
merely there to create a haunting atmosphere for Telepathy to build
their heavy progressive riffs upon. It's a beautifully played and
delicate track which would have probably been better suited for the
middle or near the end of the album.
Though
no such worries with second track Smoke From Distant Fires as
Telepathy dive straight into heavier psychedelic waters with
post-metal sonic based noises that even give way to some progressive
metal style theatrics. Telepathy merge the emotional post-rock
delivery of Russian Circles with the heavier post-metal riffs of
Pelican but still manage to create their own addictive sound. The
drumming is frantic and impressive throughout with the excellent
guitar work having a sludgier effect. The different noises that
appear allow Telepathy to bombard the listener with different moments
of pure chaos. You can hear a distinct Mastodon vibe when the album
moves into heavier progressive waters.
Third
track - Celebration Of Decay - offers a more bleak landscape as
Telepathy build upon heavier post-rock/metal sounds with a slight
depressing feel. The ambient noises played in the background maybe at
a low volume but they add a menacing atmosphere as the band has
created a multi-layered and highly complex album. The track truly
comes alive when Telepathy slow things right down and let the
post-rock vibe is the main driving force of the album as it has a
more cinematic feel. The loud instrumental work prove how talented
and forward thinking the band actually are.
Other
songs on the album such as: Echo Of Souls, Hiraeth and Water Divides
The Tide - bring a sense of foreboding Doom to proceedings. Sometimes
primal, sometimes atmospheric but always brutal and magnificent with
it’s delicately played balance of sound and vision. There are brief
vocals that appear from time to time and that allows Telepathy to
show people they can become something different other than an
instrumental band if they ever decide to go down that route.
The
production on Tempest is another highlight as everything sounds crisp
and beautifully refreshing at times. Tempest is a concept album with
its bleak themes mainly about humankind destroying the environment.
Telepathy deserve all the plaudits coming their way for Tempest as
this is an unstoppable take on all things Instrumental Rock/Metal and
could end up as one of the year's if not year's best
Post-Rock/Post-Metal albums.
Words
by Steve Howe
Thanks
to Magnus at Creative Eclipse PR for the promo. Tempest will be
available to buy on CD/DD/Vinyl via Golden Antenna from March 31st
2017.
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