The Pitch: With much anticipation, we present the follow-up album to UK progressive, post-metal act Telepathy's 2014 sleeper hit 12 Areas. "Tempest depicts the harrowing journey of a person beset with grief and faced with total isolation after
awaking from a great flood" with "a shift towards a more balanced and open sonic pallette." FFO Sonance, Cult of Luna, Russian Circles, Explosions in the Sky
What I Like: This is some great mood music. Introspective compositions that tell a story not in words, but through melody and tone much like a good classical piece. I hear a number of elments collide in the icy, watery-sounding high pitched lead guitars, the more earthy distorion, and fiery cymbals and snare. The band members work well as a unit and have a keen ear for how to bring all of these sounds together in a way that is at once cohesive and expansive. Those who are bigger connoiseurs of post-metal than I will probably have much more to say in terms of what this album means to the genre as a whole, but I continue to be impressed with what this band has to offer from an instrumental standpoint. I also dug the technical, somewhat black metal-sounding portions of "Water Divides The Tide."
What I Don't Like: I still feel like 12 Areas had a little more weight behind it. The sludge influence was much more overt, which really made every guitar chord sound like a crashing wave. I respect that the band is going for a different approach this time around, and I do still hear it come forward on tracks like "Hiraeth," but those hooky tidal waves were one of the things that really drew me to this band to begin with.
The Verdict: A remarkable work from a talented group who deserve more attention. It didn't quite hit all of the high expectations of this particular listener (one that really doesn't listen to a ton of post-metal to be fair), but it is no less worth your time. Check Tempest out this Friday.
Flight's Fav's: Water Divides The Tide, Apparition, Hiraeth
