tomacann
02-03-2004, 11:05 AM
Tempercalm - Organised Silence...With Interruptions...
I dont know much about the band or their history, so i take this from the bands official website. ( which can be found at www.tempercalm.com )
> Tempercalm is new... bold... fresh... inspiring... innovative, any of these words can easily be linked together to sum up this trio of noisy guitar wielding maniacs.. The band work hard to define a sound which embodies everything the band musically believe in. Tempercalm rehearse, record and write material in a small, secluded environment in which they craft their melodies, and let their emotions loose into every groove of every note they play.
Lead vocalist and guitarist James, of Haywire/Mina King fame, decided that on the breakdown of his band, Mina King, he would further develop music and writing skills with other local musicians, Si, Ben and Matt, a trio of lads who were new to the gigging game. (sadly Matt has since left the group)
Every member knows exactly whats going on and everyone has a say. Musicianship has a whole new meaning within the Calm'.
If someone wants to try something, then it gets ****ing tried... if its **** then it gets chucked away... simple as that... no half measures here. The band draw influences from many sources and the resulting sound has been compared to huge majestic bands such as The Deftones,
The Used, Silverchair and even local heroes Biffy Clyro have been thrown into the comparison bin.
An energetic and moving live act... with sweeping and charismatic melodies... and plenty of great ****ing rock riffs to keep the metal fans happy... it's gonna be awe inspiring, it's gonna be loud... its gonna be everything.... its Tempercalm... >
This 4 song EP opens the way it ends - with a bang... well, a delayed bang, that ends abruptly..
1 : Blocking My Own Shadow
The first song is called Blocking My Own Shadow, this is easily the best song on this cd. Heavy Riffs and brilliant melodies make up this song. "Now the sky has burned away, im left with ashes"sings Guitarist/singer James as the second of 2 great verses kicks in. Not long after that we are treated to one of the best sounding middle sections i have heard ( excluding Master Of
Puppets ) when suddenly this huge mother... of a riff kicks in and trys to grab the **** out of our collective arses. But all good things must come to and end, and indeed it does.
5/5
2 : Scarred With Poetry
Sadly Tempercalm decide to bring us back down with this nice ballad, well, i say ballad but i dont think it would really be classed as a ballad. On this song James sounds as if he is really trying hard to sing in a soft melodic voice, well, when he does this he doesnt sound to good at all. This song isnt a band song, its far from it. Its just that i feel that the band are best
sticking to what they are obviously good at.... which isnt really this. But the middle section is once again brilliant, guitars creating a sense of security, and then the keyboards come in and it sounds like something you may hear on a Moby album. Once again, very good song but i feel that right now, Tempercalm arent at a place where they can pull these type of songs off.
3/5
3 : Distorted Silence
Opens with a piano, accompanied by what seems like triple tracked guitars. Then comes the haunting sound of mastered feedback... and its at this point we expect this song to bring the house down. The riff that follows keeps us entertained... then to the verse which has the same feel as the verses from "Blocking My Own Shadow" but sadly James voice doesnt do his
music justice. Not that the singing is bad, because it isnt. It just doesnt do it for me.
The Basslines in this song are top notch. In fact, the basslines in the whole EP are very good. Not the usual stuff you get from most bassists. The drums are also well played, and there is no doubting the songs are well written, its just James voice needs a bit more work. Once again, good song - brilliant chorus, and a nice ending.
5/5
4 : Left Of Beautiful
Who let the drummer in the studio before everyone else? Because the beginning of this song sounds like Tempercalm have wiped their drummers memory, because it sounds like a beginner just randomly hitting his sticks against the skins... but with a rhythm..
But anyway, once again the song has the same soft/loud arrangement Tempercalm have stuck with througout the album. Not a problem if you can pull it off ( This band can pull it off ) Im not going to criticise James voice during this song, because the fact is he doesnt have a bad voice,
he just needs to use it right. What seems like a badly out of tune guitar appears from nowhere.. and takes us somewhere. Where it takes us is an ending that is as unexpected as it is sudden.
Because this song stops dead. Which isnt a bad thing.
4/5
So what exactly do i think of Tempercalm? Well, i think they are a band who people will see more of. ( They now have a video up on Scuzz tv in the U.K, and are currently about to embark on a UK tour - as well as having an EP launch night at Glasgows Garage )
I think they are a band who will do what Biffy Clyro have done, come from nowhere and grab everyone and take them on a journey... a journey that could possibly end with a ****load of money. Lets hope it does.
8/10
I dont know much about the band or their history, so i take this from the bands official website. ( which can be found at www.tempercalm.com )
> Tempercalm is new... bold... fresh... inspiring... innovative, any of these words can easily be linked together to sum up this trio of noisy guitar wielding maniacs.. The band work hard to define a sound which embodies everything the band musically believe in. Tempercalm rehearse, record and write material in a small, secluded environment in which they craft their melodies, and let their emotions loose into every groove of every note they play.
Lead vocalist and guitarist James, of Haywire/Mina King fame, decided that on the breakdown of his band, Mina King, he would further develop music and writing skills with other local musicians, Si, Ben and Matt, a trio of lads who were new to the gigging game. (sadly Matt has since left the group)
Every member knows exactly whats going on and everyone has a say. Musicianship has a whole new meaning within the Calm'.
If someone wants to try something, then it gets ****ing tried... if its **** then it gets chucked away... simple as that... no half measures here. The band draw influences from many sources and the resulting sound has been compared to huge majestic bands such as The Deftones,
The Used, Silverchair and even local heroes Biffy Clyro have been thrown into the comparison bin.
An energetic and moving live act... with sweeping and charismatic melodies... and plenty of great ****ing rock riffs to keep the metal fans happy... it's gonna be awe inspiring, it's gonna be loud... its gonna be everything.... its Tempercalm... >
This 4 song EP opens the way it ends - with a bang... well, a delayed bang, that ends abruptly..
1 : Blocking My Own Shadow
The first song is called Blocking My Own Shadow, this is easily the best song on this cd. Heavy Riffs and brilliant melodies make up this song. "Now the sky has burned away, im left with ashes"sings Guitarist/singer James as the second of 2 great verses kicks in. Not long after that we are treated to one of the best sounding middle sections i have heard ( excluding Master Of
Puppets ) when suddenly this huge mother... of a riff kicks in and trys to grab the **** out of our collective arses. But all good things must come to and end, and indeed it does.
5/5
2 : Scarred With Poetry
Sadly Tempercalm decide to bring us back down with this nice ballad, well, i say ballad but i dont think it would really be classed as a ballad. On this song James sounds as if he is really trying hard to sing in a soft melodic voice, well, when he does this he doesnt sound to good at all. This song isnt a band song, its far from it. Its just that i feel that the band are best
sticking to what they are obviously good at.... which isnt really this. But the middle section is once again brilliant, guitars creating a sense of security, and then the keyboards come in and it sounds like something you may hear on a Moby album. Once again, very good song but i feel that right now, Tempercalm arent at a place where they can pull these type of songs off.
3/5
3 : Distorted Silence
Opens with a piano, accompanied by what seems like triple tracked guitars. Then comes the haunting sound of mastered feedback... and its at this point we expect this song to bring the house down. The riff that follows keeps us entertained... then to the verse which has the same feel as the verses from "Blocking My Own Shadow" but sadly James voice doesnt do his
music justice. Not that the singing is bad, because it isnt. It just doesnt do it for me.
The Basslines in this song are top notch. In fact, the basslines in the whole EP are very good. Not the usual stuff you get from most bassists. The drums are also well played, and there is no doubting the songs are well written, its just James voice needs a bit more work. Once again, good song - brilliant chorus, and a nice ending.
5/5
4 : Left Of Beautiful
Who let the drummer in the studio before everyone else? Because the beginning of this song sounds like Tempercalm have wiped their drummers memory, because it sounds like a beginner just randomly hitting his sticks against the skins... but with a rhythm..
But anyway, once again the song has the same soft/loud arrangement Tempercalm have stuck with througout the album. Not a problem if you can pull it off ( This band can pull it off ) Im not going to criticise James voice during this song, because the fact is he doesnt have a bad voice,
he just needs to use it right. What seems like a badly out of tune guitar appears from nowhere.. and takes us somewhere. Where it takes us is an ending that is as unexpected as it is sudden.
Because this song stops dead. Which isnt a bad thing.
4/5
So what exactly do i think of Tempercalm? Well, i think they are a band who people will see more of. ( They now have a video up on Scuzz tv in the U.K, and are currently about to embark on a UK tour - as well as having an EP launch night at Glasgows Garage )
I think they are a band who will do what Biffy Clyro have done, come from nowhere and grab everyone and take them on a journey... a journey that could possibly end with a ****load of money. Lets hope it does.
8/10