Quick Reviews: Temperance & Metalite

As quickly as it arose, the sub-sub-genre I was fond of calling 'hyper-pop metal' has already faded into the background of whatever it is we call the 'mainstream' of the metal world. There was a brief moment I thought this tenor of music was going to be one of the next big things, the world had other thoughts. That's actually ok with me, because what I've noted to myself is while I liked several of those bands the first time I heard them, pretty much none of that music has managed to stick with me over these last few years. They were fun, but not particularly long-lasting. So a bit like chewing gum, I suppose.

The exception...

Temperance - Arcani

The exception was Temperance, specifically their album "Of Jupiter And Moons". Of all the music I sorted into this group, the only album I still go back to regularly is that one. Temperance had the energy, the massive hooks, and the gorgeous blend of three vocalists that appealed to someone who was listening to a lot of The Jayhawks "Hollywood Town Hall" around that time. No, that isn't to draw a comparison between the bands, other than to say the vocal blending was well-timed for my ears.

With each successive album, I have found myself less interesting. "Viridian" was still great, but then the sugar-rush of the style started to cloy on me. By the time we got to their last album, a concept record telling the full story of a song off "Of Jupiter And Moons" several albums before, I was checked out. The songs weren't as irresistible as before, and not enough to make me care about the awkward lyrics of a story I truly didn't care about. Sorry, not sorry. Which brings us to this newest record, where every song is based on a tarot card.

Look, I'm over 'gimmick' albums. Telling me the songs are based on tarot cards is a way to turn me off, because every gimmick moves us away from the human connection I want from music. That's not to say they can't be good, or have deep meaning, but it gives me the impression the songs were written to fit the gimmick, and not because they were something the author simply had to say. A few songs on the record grate on me, especially the way the increased use of backing chants, like on "The Devil: Sin, Sin, Sin" hearken back to an era of metal I never enjoyed. "The Tower: Lean Into Fear" is one of the band's heaviest songs, which proves the band's strengths are definitely in the melodic department. The songs that pull back a bit and focus on delivering those trademark melodies are still great, but there aren't enough of them for me to say the album as a whole was a great experience. I like this better than the other concept album, but not as much as their best. Seriously, "Of Jupiter And Moons" is amazing.

Of course, at this same time also getting a string of singles from Marco's other band, Fallen Sanctuary, feels to me like it waters down what makes Temperance unique.

Metalite - Discovery

Then there is Metalite, who stand out from the others in the big three of this sub-genre by... well, not standing out. They don't have the vocal blending of Temperance, nor the genre extremities of Amaranthe, which leaves them feeling like the middle ground of all of this. They have consistently released solid records, but the nature of their sound makes it difficult to pick out one from the other, or what makes them special among so many other bands I come across.

In the past, they have tried the patience of some by having thick layers of synth slathered all over their music, but they have found a better balance between their metal roots and their penchant for electronics. That doesn't solve one of the major problems I have, which is that both of those elements combine to make the music so clean and precise it all sounds nearly inhuman. That gets exacerbated on songs like "In Case Of Emergency", where enough of a filter (or autotune - I can't quite tell) is put on the vocal to make the whole thing feel even that little bit more robotic. There just aren't enough moments where anything deviates in a way that sounds like a human idiosyncrasy.

I could certainly do without "The Metal Elite" again singing about how strong people who listen to metal are, but Metalite does deliver another set of hooky songs throughout the album. Start to finish, they deliver on their promise. Songs like "Echoes Of You" are lovely bits of pop-metal I enjoy quite a bit. Metalite is one of those bands, though, that works better for me in smaller doses. A song here and there is great, but an entire album begins to blend together into a homologous guitars and vocals. That's why Amaranthe is more memorable to me, even if I think Metalite is at least as consistent when it comes to songwriting.

I might come across a bit harsher than I intend, since bright and shiny is not the kind of music that fits the mood I've been in most recent days. I can hear the quality, but it doesn't happen to be the quality I'm looking for right now.