Rapture

tl;dr: heavy metal with lots of technical thrash elements, dark melodies, and female vocals; probably their best album so far.

Hailing from Australia, the quintet recently released its fifth full-length album via Battlegod Productions and if you’re in for some face-grabbing heavy metal with female vocals, then buckle up and keep reading. At times dark and aggressive and at times melodic and uplifting, “Rapture” strikes a fine balance between the heaviness, aggression and melodic elements someone would expect from a band that files its music under the “Heavy Metal” tag.

Don’t let the opener, “Rapture”, fool you as there’s more in Temtris’ music than just galloping riffs and double pedal drum sequences. Take for example the “groovy”, low-tuned “Wings of Death” in which they throw in some tech-thrash elements; or “Serpent” that moves from an acoustic prelude and a catchy mid-tempo chorus to an imposing finale during which Genevieve’s (Rodda) vocals stand out. Also, “Parasite” is another track that stands out, as it features a mixture of thrashy riffs in the vein of Testament and Annihilator, blended with acoustic parts that add depth and layering to the overall composition. I’d say it’s probably the magnum opus of the album.

Of course, “Rapture” contains songs that follow a more straightforward approach like the anthemic “Breathe” and the band’s single/video, “Run”, that’s heavily inspired from the US power metal scene. “Carry You”, stays on the same path, but being more of a slow-paced, ballad-like song allows the band to show its melodic and more mellow side.

When it gets down to business, Temtris is not shy of musicianship: with a guitar duo that’s capable of delivering both aggressive riffs and expressive solos, vocals that prove there are more options for female vocalists than just being clones of Nightwish or Arch Εnemy and a newly-founded rhythm section that knows how to lay the foundation for everything else to step on, the band seems to have picked off from where “Enter the Asylum” left and has taken things to the next level.

Originally written for the Forgotten Scroll webzine.