Temperance - Of Jupiter and Moons album review.

From their first album on I have followed Temperance and saw them shoot towards new highs with great speed, as they have produced three fantastic albums and a damn good live album. Now we have reached the point where the band has replaced half their line-up. It began already with the departure of drummer Giulio Capone in 2017. Now frontlady Chiara Tricarico has stepped aside as well, making way for Alessia Scolletti, second vocalist Michele Guaitoli was added too and before you know it, a band I know well is looking back at me with new faces. It takes some getting used to; how many people can you replace while still remaining the same band? (Especially when the ex-members were also fellow composers). It’s up to guitar player Marco Pastorino and bassist Liuk Abbott (formally known as Luca Negro – yes I was confused too) to keep the core. Judging their new album Of Jupiter and Moons, they succeed in that damn well!

Like we are accustomed now, you continue to hear right of the bat in each song which band we are dealing with. Temperance hasn’t changed at all when it comes to their music – in a good manner! The things that have changed however are all improvements. Chiara was and is a phenomenal singer but she could sound a bit harsh at times; a minor fault that is unfamiliar to Alessia’s more relaxed voice, but doesn’t fail to impress when it comes to the power that has always been the calling card of Temperance’s vocal performances.
The first single that the band presented from this album is title track Of Jupiter and Moons, and it’s especially this track that gives a good introduction to both the general idea of the album as second vocalist Michele Guaitoli, who mostly shines as the velvet counterpart of Marco’s gravely throat. So now, Temperance has three vocalists who make each vocal category their own. Alessia front and center with her powerful voice, Michele beside her, filling the role of the finer male vocals, and Marco providing the raw edges.

So now Temperance has a whole load of stuff to offer for this album. Beside a vocal mini-army they now throw in everything they have in the musical department. With their last album, The Earth Embraces Us Al, I already spoke of how they gave it all they had already, but it still left room for another bar-raise. They have certainly headed that challenge. They really give it everything and all this time plus thrice more and the result is an album as an impenetrable wall of creativity that comes blowing at you. Every song is filled to the brim, and that can become a bit overwhelming at first. Giving everything 110% sounds like a good plan, but I wonder if it is still necessary? Temperance is a typical example of a band that could produce wonderful music without all the extra frills, but are still convinced they need it all and more is therefore better. They have proved themselves already, but still every chance to turn things up another notch is taken with passion. There are exuberant vocals galore, technical challenging solo’s, lightning speed drums, a heap of new sounds (like a Hammond organ in The Art of Believing – put there because why the heck not I guess. Flashbacks go to previous album that contained some spontaneous saxophone parts, also because why the heck not.) On top of that everything is given a rich layer of orchestrations. Though all this is their clear positive selling point, I would like to see what they would do if they were one day going to follow the philosophy Less Is More.  I think they would surprise themselves and the fans as well.

Still, all that drama produces some damn fine moments, especially the ballad Empires and Men. Almost shed a tear on that one. Finale of the album – Daruma’s Eyes (part 1) is again a showcase of talent in the vain of previous epics like The Restless Ride and The Fourth Season that can only gain value overtime, but the bulk of the album is still a variegated collection of songs that offer so much good things that going over them a few times is really recommended. Knowing me when it comes to Temperance’s music, I will get opportunities a plenty for that!