It’s not a secret that TERAMAZE is one of Australia’s premier melodic progressive metal bands, and one of our favorites, as their ‘melodic’ factor is equally important as their proggy essence. The last few years has seen Teramaze go into a prolific writing frenzy, boasting an amazing feat of releasing three full-length albums in a 12 month period – all featured at plotn08.
The band is showing no signs of slowing down creatively, as they are releasing their 10th album, “Flight Of The Wounded“, another fantastic imaginative collection of songs. This CD is possibly Teramaze strongest body of work date. From start to finish, from track to track, there really is no filler. Yeap, it’s that good.
Call me nuts, but TERAMAZE is the only band in the world blending prog metal with melodic rock. Something only British masters Balance Of Power did successfully in the past. Well, “Flight Of The Wounded” will appeal fans of both genres, but also hard rockers, AOR, even rock&pop listeners.
Title track is the opener; a ten-minute opus and the most prog number on the CD. Heavy, aggressive elements are tempered with intelligent melodies. The harmonies in the guitar work in the beginning are wonderful. Dean Wells has the perfect voice for this music, powerful, crystalline.
Then “Gold” has a smooth and mellow sound with some hooks and a very melodic chorus that would be an envy for any established melodic hard rock act.
Next, “The Thieves Are Out” is the perfect representation this band is all about; song format, sweet melodies but not without a core sense of power – the peaceful and glossy sound is full of keys and hooks, and the guitar solo is smoking.
On “Until the Lights” Dean stretches out into the upper ranges with backing vocals. He holds the notes with perfect pitch and drains them for everything they are worth, showcasing why he’s one of the best rock singers of his generation.
“Tickets to the Next Apocalypse” refers to the COVID-19 pandemic, and of course musically is both harder and darker, but still melodic. These guys are masters of mixed emotions, the song is punchy and groovy at the same time.
“For the Thrill” is pretty commercial however the power in there, especially in the vocals. The music has a good mixture of guitars and keys, along with vocal harmonies.
“Dangerous Me” features a steadfast guitar riff with, again, very pleasant vocal harmonies. There are just enough Progressive elements to keep it planted within the genre, but it’s all about the melody here.
“Battle” is yet another winner, with heavy hooks out of the gates. It’s a balanced song that is ardent enough for Metalheads, yet melodic enough for fans of current Scandinavian melodic rock / AOR.
Closer “In the Ruins of Angels” adds into the cocktail all this band elements: prog, melodic hard rock, balladry, a bit of commercial sympho… Teramaze does this so well!
Four albums in two years is an amazing feat for any band to undertake. One thing that I noticed on this fourth release is that the band seems to have confined their songwriting efforts into more concise songs, rather than the lavish songs of yesteryear.
Dare I say it’s more mature? Yes, but don’t mistake this with the band losing their footing in the genre. Indeed, if anything, it is just further evidence that they have developed into a real force into genre, going further into others for wide appeal.
Impressive.
01. Flight of the Wounded (10:44)
02. Gold (05:49)
03. The Thieves Are Out (06:50)
04. Until the Lights (06:51)
05. Ticket to the Next Apocalypse (07:53)
06. For the Thrill (05:16)
07. Dangerous Me (07:17)
08. Battle (05:04)
09. In the Ruins of Angels (07:07)