Art by: Maximilian Korosteljov
Style: Progressive metal (clean vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Dream Theater, Kamelot, Caligula’s Horse, Ayreon
Country: Australia
Release date: 24 May 2024
Ever since Sorella Minore came out in 2021, Teramaze have been a favorite of mine. Seemingly out of nowhere, they casually dropped a twenty-five minute track alongside three short five minute ones, and then said, “Oh yeah, we’re releasing another album six months later.” Flabbergasted by their boldness, I checked out the album and was quickly enamored of their colorful, cinematic approach to songwriting, as well as Nathan Peachy’s soulful vocals and Dean Wells’ and Chris Zoupa’s emotional lead guitar work. Then, having barely digested Sorella Minore, their new album And the Beauty They Perceived came out, and less than a year later Flight of the Wounded was also in my mailbox. Now two years and ample digestion time later, the Australians are back with yet another package of melodic goodness titled Eli: A Wonderful Fall From Grace. How could I resist?
Teramaze play a bread-and-butter brand of progressive metal: hyper-melodic vocals that border on pop sit on top of light djenty riffs bolstered by cinematic keyboard arrangements. General progressive wizardry is present in the form of time signature fuckery (“The Will of Eli”), tempo and mood changes (“Standing Ovation”), and head-spinning climaxes doing everything all at once (“Madam Roma”). However, the main appeal of Teramaze is not in their technical prowess, but in their ability to evoke a sense of wonder and longing; despite the pop sensibilities, there is a slight edge to the vocal lines and a dark vibe throughout Eli’s runtime. The solos reflect this as well by emphasizing melody and feel, only using shred as a tool in service of the overall composition (see for example, “Step Right Up”).
And sure enough, Teramaze’s songwriting prowess is as good as ever. Unlike the chorus-driven Flight of the Wounded, Eli is a concept album whose songwriting is informed by its story beats, relying on principles of tension and release as opposed to a firm verse-chorus structure. It is the conceptual finale of the Halo trilogy, picking up where Sorella Minore left off to finish what Her Halo began. The concept album format lends itself greatly to Teramaze’s free flowing songwriting approach: they do use choruses, but almost always conjure up a compelling divergence in structure in the latter half. “The Will of Eli,” for instance, continually builds up tension and peaks at the halfway point as it pulls out all the stops, then provides release by transitioning into this gorgeous Floydian acoustic section; “Step Right Up” has a similar dropoff halfway through but builds up again to a grandiose finale at the hands of a beautiful elongated guitar solo; and “Madam Roma” even introduces a second chorus in its finale after delivering the flashiest, most technical crescendo of the album yet. The titular “A Wonderful Fall From Grace” also greatly demonstrates this tension and release writing, teasing a saxophone solo multiple times before finally letting loose in glorious fashion, resulting in one of my favorite musical moments of 2024. While the track does take time to get going, making the first half a smidge bloated, the payoff is tremendous, expertly showing off the bands talents for both technicality and feel.
This free flowing approach might raise concerns about diminishing quality of the vocal hooks, but this couldn’t be further from the truth. Nathan Peachy is an incredibly expressive and powerful vocalist, as is Dean Wells, who takes up vocal duties on the power ballad “Hands Are Tied.” Thanks to Wells’ talent for melody writing, he manages to make not just every chorus, but also damn near every verse catchy—in “Standing Ovation” especially, the verses are even bigger earworms than the chorus! While the focus on vocal melodies may detract from the riffage at times, leading to occasional sections of forgettable djenty chugging (“Step Right Up”, “A Wonderful Fall From Grace”), it’s actually a choice that reaps dividends, preventing the arrangements from becoming too crowded.
Despite technicality not being the focus, Teramaze are by no means slouches. “The Will of Eli,” for example, opens with a syncopated rhythm doing four bars of three followed by one of four, creating a highly asymmetrical feeling in what is ultimately a 4/4 beat, and the guitar solo near the halfway mark is a proper mind-bender too. By far the most technical song however is the djenty “Madam Roma,” which features a ton of rhythmic switchups and delivers the most impressive instrumental section yet. At the peak of tension we get some well-placed harsh vocals which make the release of the subsequent guitar solo and second chorus all the more cathartic. “Standing Ovation,” too, has some dizzying solos that release into a deeply satisfying, weighty conclusion.
“Standing Ovation” beckons the listener with the lyrics “Get your ticket for a one of a kind / A performer that’ll blow your mind,” and in my case, Teramaze are that one-of-a-kind. Eli absolutely refused to leave my brain alone this year, its melodically rich yet technically intricate songwriting acting as a sideshow spectacle which blew me away over and over again. Traditional prog metal may be out of fashion, but on Eli: A Wonderful Fall From Grace, Teramaze show that sticking to a tried-and-true sound can work wonders in the right hands. It’s a worthy closer to the Halo trilogy, and I can’t wait to see what major work they have planned next.
Recommended tracks: The Will of Eli, Madam Roma, Standing Ovation (also all of them)
You may also like: Anubis Gate, Voices From the Fuselage, Vanden Plas, Daydream XI, Ostura
Final verdict: 8.5/10
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Official Website | Facebook | Instagram | Metal-Archives page
Label: Wells Music (so basically Independent)
Teramaze is:
– Nathan Peachy (vocals)
– Dean Wells (guitars, lead vocals on track 7, backing vocals otherwise)
– Chris Zoupa (guitars)
– Andrew Cameron (bass)
– Nick Ross (drums)
0 Comments