Teramaze Her Halo

“With great licks comes great riffponsibilities”.

The teramazing TERAMAZE are set to ter-amaze us with a new record, titled “Her Halo”. Since the release of the huge “Esoteric Symbolism”, TERAMAZE added a new bassist and a new singer to the ranks; Luis Enrique Eguren and Nathan Peachey, respectively. Having lovingly previewed us a year or so ago as to their abilities, some neat stuff was to be expected. Then guitarist Dean dropped on the fans that the newest album would be graced by the hands of none other than Jacob Hansen. Looking pretty good so far, I reckon.

There are a few facets present that still make this a TERAMAZE album. It’s a tad heavy and Thrashy for a Prog album, when it wants to be, and some of the chord progressions will come across as rather familiar for fans of “Esoteric…”. But it is oh-so very melodic; perhaps their most melodic release to date. Not only does Dean’s guitar shine and crank it out more in the melody department, but Nathan has, sufficed to say, changed the face of the band for the foreseeable future. Commanding a more ‘traditional’ vocal delivery, he possesses an immense range, and can fill that range to the brim with raw emotion. Liken him to, if you will, a mighty-morphin’ of Tommy Karevik and Michael Eriksen.

“An Ordinary Dream (Enla Momento)” opens the album with a mouthful; placing the album’s longest track (at over 12 minutes) is an ambitious endeavour, and is naturally the most adventurous song on the album. Initially it moves between ballady and liquid verses, totally belied by the frenetic introductory riffs. The choruses are the first instances of Nathan’s voice ‘breaking in’ and solidifying himself within our ears as the new voice of the band. Somber in the low notes, and crystal-clear and pure in the highs, admirable is that is holds the highs long and loud; thin is not in his repertoire. These back-and-forths last for roughly 5 minutes; the ‘first song in the song’, if you will, and in an explosive and progressive nature it evolves into a different beast. The middle of the track is, interestingly, my favourite part, where Nathan and Dean almost have a trade-off, with Dean’s emotive leads effectively vocalizing a response; genius, pure genius, songwriting. The metal makes a return in an explosive series of riffs that seem to just spiral outwards, ending with yet another soulful croon.

Already having been treated by a mini-album, the surprises sure weren’t over. The album’s title track is perhaps the catchiest number on offer here. A song that gives definition to the term “liquid grooves”, the fluidity of this song cannot be described, but felt, whilst you listen to the quaint, albeit thought-provoking lyrics and be carried on the tide of awesomesauce. Radio-friendly? Sure. Does it matter when it sounds like this? Not particularly. The track to follow, which is also destined to be their next single, “Out Of Subconscious” contains multitudes of Eriksen-isms that I could have guessed Nathan was capable of producing. A very vocally ‘wild’ track, his voice dances as the riffs do, a bevel to the choppy edge, underlined with prominent and busy bass work; "drummer Dean"'s drum work particularly stands out here, where the syncopation is not only tight but entrancing to listen to.

Perhaps the biggest throwback towards their previous album is “For The Innocent”; interestingly enough, also my favourite track on the album. It bleeds energy; it’s not unnecessarily busy, but enough going on that you don’t require a breather to stop and think about what’s pounding on your chest. The chorus on the track represents “that moment” on the album, for me; the part that I keep rewinding to re-listen to. Additionally, it may also just be me, but Nathan more so seems to live through Tommy Karevik in some of the vocal passages, crooning away the end of the first verse. Yet amazingly, the man has his own voice, and to be able to make a listener nod lovingly towards those vocalists without having to incredulously emulate them for an entire album, is a testament to his versatility.

Ultimately, it’s an album that absolutely has to be traversed from start to finish (note that I won’t spoil “Trapeze”; guitar lovers rejoice, wherein Dean will make you cry for a few minutes). It will require more than one listening (if, perchance, you can stop rewinding “For The Innocent”), but you will be left smiling. This album at times wants to make you smile, but will also steal the world away from you with tragic emotions that fueled some of the lyrics (those following Dean on his social network should have caught on by now). Melbourne’s metal scene has hit a jackpot.

1. An Ordinary Dream (Enla Momento)
2. To Love A Tyrant
3. Her Halo
4. Out Of Subconscious
5. For The Innocent
6. Trapeze
7. Broken
8. Delusions Of Grandeur