No artist credited
Style: Progressive metal (95% clean vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Dream Theater, Caligula’s Horse, Threshold, Kamelot, 00s pop punk
Country: Australia
Release date: 17 January 2025
Ever since Sorella Minore came out in 2021, Teramaze have been a favorite of mi—wait a second, I covered these fellas less than a month ago! Now they’re already back with an EP? Not that I’m complaining—Eli: A Wonderful Fall from Grace was my 2024 album of the year and all—but it continues to amaze me how fast they crank out new music. It’s not even the quickest thing they’ve done either; back in 2021, there were only five months in between the two full length releases Sorella Minore and And the Beauty They Perceive. Releasing an EP in eight months is peanuts in comparison. Wait, what’s that you say? They have a double album planned this year—and the first one is coming out soon already? Jeez, let me digest these Desire Colours n Lust first, okay?
For those unfamiliar with the band, Teramaze play a bread and butter brand of progressive metal centered around the expressive vocals of Nathan Peachy and/or Dean Wells, light djenty riffs, cinematic synths, and melodic shred. As its title might already indicate to you, Desire Colours n Lust is a far more straightforward offering than Eli, which was the conceptual finale to the Halo trilogy, having much higher pacing and chorus-driven songwriting. Nathan Peachy has fully taken over on lead vocals, allowing Dean Wells to focus only on the guitars besides a few backing parts here and there. His approach this time is less vulnerable and soul-bearing, instead opting for a smooth, seductive style in the verses, and a soaring, sing-along one in the choruses, all coated in a ‘00s pop punk energy redolent of Fall Out Boy or My Chemical Romance. More spotlight is also given to groovy, light djenty riffs, which in conjunction with the record’s upbeat nature makes the EP far less heavy emotionally than Eli was. Perhaps expectedly, Desire is all about having a fun time.
The production and performances on Desire are as professional as always. The mix is evenly balanced between all elements while also giving the right amount of weight to individual components when necessary. Nathan Peachy’s ever wonderful vocals sit front and center in the mix but never overwhelm the instruments; and similarly, the guitars sound full and heavy but remain in service of the greater whole, allowing room for orchestration, bass, and other melodic elements. The focus on a riff-centric sound leads to some mixed results: riffs have never been Teramaze’s strongest aspect, and they were at their best when used in service of the arrangements (the title track being a good example of this) instead of being the main driving force. “Sinister” has some excellent groovy djent riffs, but both “Bullet to a Pharaoh” and “Black Sound” recall the most generic instances of the prog power movement when they discovered the Chug continent around 2010. The guitarwork is at its best during the more complex passages and the few small solos peppered throughout the record.
While Desire is largely straightforward and chorus-driven, we do get a few passages where Teramaze attempt some riskier progressive songwriting. Most notable is “Black Sound” which includes some blackgaze-esque tremolo picked parts and introduces some nifty drum n bass percussion effects in its bridge’s atmospheric break. The title track and “Sinister” also do the atmospheric drop-off really well, giving all the space for Peachy’s angelic voice, but not all the album’s experimentation works. The rapid-fire harsh vocals in “Sinister” are too edgy for my liking, and the “Ow!” jumpscare that opens “Perfect World” hurts my ears and soul. By and large though, the songwriting feels undercooked. “Bullet to a Pharaoh” is the main offender with its generic riffs and lazy lyric-writing, going oh-woh-woh-wo-oh instead of penning anything meaningful, and its chorus comes across as a pop punk recontextualization of “The Will of Eli”. Similarly, for all its cool experimentation, generic riffage puts a huge dent in “Black Sound”’s potential.
Sometimes I wish Teramaze would take more time to release new music. Not that they are ever bad on this EP (well, besides the “Ow!”), but I know they are capable of much more than this. Desire Colours n Lust is a decent EP with some fun cuts and a few fresh ideas, yet I find myself wondering what the result would have been if they sat down to fully flesh out all their ideas into something more ambitious. In that sense, I’m a bit concerned about the upcoming double album being even more rushed, but hey, we don’t live in a “Perfect World” now, do we?
Recommended tracks: Sinister, Black Sound
You may also like: Rendezvous Point, The Pulse Theory, Temic
Final verdict: 6/10
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, backing vocals)
– Chris Zoupa (guitars)
– Andrew Cameron (bass)
– Nick Ross (drums)
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