Temperance: Diamanti

Italian symphonic power metal outfit Temperance have returned with their sixth studio album following on the heels of their 2020 release Viridian. Diamanti continues on the path that Temperance has already laid out for themselves with power metal riffing, three part vocal arrangements and plenty of symphonic flare. Honestly this isn’t a genre that I particularly love so you can take my opinions with a grain of salt. I’m also not familiar with their previous albums so my impression of the music is without that context and purely on the merits of this album itself.

The album marches out with the epic riffing and symphonic power of “Pure Life Unfolds� which sees the band sounding pretty heavy and full of energy. When the vocals come in, however, the cheese begins. The band has three vocalists in Alessia Scolletti, Michele Guaitoli and Marco Pastrino and while the vocals are very catchy they are also very generic and predictable. It works better when the ladies are singing, however when the three of them are singing together they often fail to find an interesting harmony with Marco and one of the women singing in octave unison with the third woman singing a harmony. I personally feel that it's a wasted opportunity. The Next Song “Breaking the rules of Heavy Metal� is a total misnomer. It couldn’t be more formulaic if they tried. That being said the instruments do deliver and there is a fairly uplifting feel to the whole thing even if it is a bit generic. When I listen to Diamanti, I can definitely picture them in full power metal regalia rocking some European metal festival with their catchy anthemic fist pumping metal and the whole crowd singing along...They love their power metal over there. The title track “Diamanti� has more of the same but leaning even more into the cinematic and symphonic side of what they do. Again the band is strong and delivers it all very professionally, however the lack of some deep three part vocal harmonies is a bit disappointing as the album proceeds.

This style of music always sounds to me like heavy pop, at least when the singing is happening, and as I’ve said, that is not my thing and makes it hard for me to click with Diamanti. However I know there is a huge market for this music especially in Europe and it’s clear to me that they would be very popular with fans of bands like Epica, Amaranthe and Nightwish. I know I have been quite critical but apart from the lack of some rich vocal harmonies the band is extremely tight and proficient. The songs all have an epic feel and are played at a very high level of professionalism that is to be respected. Even though it’s not an album for my taste I can still respect what Temperance is all about. If you love the bands mentioned above, power metal, symphonic metal or all of the above then definitely check out Diamanti. For those of you who like metal with more meat on the bone, stay clear of this one.

TEMPERANCE are:
Alessia Scolletti- vocals
Michele Guaitoli-vocals, piano
Marco Pastorino -vocals, guitar
Luca Negro-bass guitar
Alfonso Mocerino - drums

Tracklisting:
1. Pure Life Unfolds
2. Breaking The Rules of Heavy Metal
3. Diamanti
4. Black Is My Heart
5. Litany Of The Northern Lights
6. You Only Live Once
7. I The Loneliness
8. Codebreaker
9. The Night Before The End
10. Fairy Tales For The Stars
11. Let's Get Started
12. Follow Me

Added: December 4th 2021
Reviewer: Benjamin Dudai
Score:
Related Link: Band Facebook Page
Hits: 763
Language: english

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