Temperance: Hermitage-Daruma's Eyes Pt. 2

I've heard bits and pieces of Temperance's back catalog before, and I was cool with them for the most part. Italian Power Metal can be a bit much for people who aren't down with the pomp and over the top "cheese" of the genre's most spirited and unrestrained practitioners, but I'm more than equipped for whatever these guys can send my way. What we have here is a concept album based on the fictional village of Hermitage, which was actually already brought up in the final track of the group's 2018 release Of Jupiter and Moons, which was unsurprisingly called "Daruma's Eyes Pt. 1". Think Dream Theater with their whole "Scenes from a Memory" song and album in terms of relatability. I'm cool with concept albums as long as they flow well and the overarching story doesn't distract from the songs and performances throughout. Hermitage-Daruma's Eyes Pt. 2 does a solid job of keeping the songs at the forefront, and honestly the story can be an afterthought if you choose to make it so.

Temperance are, as said previously, an Italian Power Metal act. While it's a bit of a generalization to say that most bands with those qualifiers are completely loaded with orchestrations, soaring majestic melodies, and not a single pinch of self awareness... the shoe certainly fits here. Vocals and sweeping strings and keyboards are the star here, and for the most part they are done exceptionally well. For a concept album like this, almost all of the tracks are fairly brisk or downright speedy, with tons of double kick drums and melodious harmony guitars right out of the early Avantasia or Rhapsody playbooks. The pianos and keys are easily the highlight of Temperance's sound, as they are straight up majesty made corporeal. Songs like "Glorious", "Join Me", and "Brave New Start" sound like the soundtrack to the most glittery and overdone fantasy novel you can dream up, and in the best way possible. Temperance lean into their overindulgent melodicism HARD, and god bless them for it.

The vocals are a bit of a mixed bag to me. The male vocalists tend to fall into the trap that a lot of bands of Temperance's ilk fall into, which is there's a ton of whispy and thin vocal deliveries all over the place here. By no means are the singers (Guaitoli and Pastarino) bad, but I could do with a bit more power from time to time. Imagine Fabio Lione during his more quiet and subdued moments in Rhapsody's discography, but pretty much all the time. New female vocalist Kristen Starkey, on the other hand, may have a bit TOO much power. She's got a very unique contralto voice that is significantly lower than what you would probably expect from a female vocalist in a band like this, and behind that voice is all the explosive power of 1000 exploding suns. All of that said, I'm not sure it fits. Guest vocalists Fabienne Erni (of Eluveitie) and Laura Fella (of Faun) are much more at home on Hermitage than Kristen's husky bellows to these ears. All of these vocal nitpicks go out the window for the most part when the band is in full choir mode during choruses and the like, though. These parts work splendidly and have all the power and majesty you'd ever want.

There's certainly some goofy lyrical moments and forced rhymes to be had, but as I doubt english is most of the band's primary language it's hard not to expect it. The entire story is take it or leave it, which is honestly a compliment to how engaging and genuinely good a lot of the material is on Hermitage. You can just press play and listen without much commitment to exploring the album's story, and while that leads to a lot of the lyrics being nonsensical gobbledegook it's still super rewarding. If you enjoy symphonic power metal that shouldn't be uncharted territory for you anyways. While I have my qualms with some of it, Hermitage is a really fun and beautifully orchestrated power metal release with lots of charm and grandeur. If you like the usual suspects (Avantasia, Nightwish, etc), you'll be right at home here.

Tracklist:
1. Daruma
2. Glorious
3. A Hero Reborn
4. Welcome to Hermitage
5. No Return
6. In Search of Gold
7. Join Me
8. Trust No One but You
9. Darkness Is Just a Drawing
10. Into the Void
11. Brand New Start
12. Where We Belong
13. Full of Memories
14. Cliff

Added: October 16th 2023
Reviewer: Brandon Miles
Score:
Related Link: Band Website
Hits: 1732
Language: english

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