I last covered Australian Progressive metal four piece Teramaze back in 2015 when they released “Her Halo”, an impressive progressive metal album which managed to stand out alongside other notable progressive metal releases that year (Queensrÿche, Symphony X, The Great Discord to name some!). Fast forward six years and the Aussies are back on Ave Noctum’s pages once again with their 8th studio release. I didn’t even realise there were 2 releases (2019’s ‘Are We Soldiers’ and 2020’s ‘I Wonder’) between Her Halo and Sorella Minore, but enough getting sidetracked!
There’s been some line-up changes since my last exposure to the band, with original member Vocalist and Guitarist Dean Wells the only constant presence, and ironically enough, both 2015’s ‘Her Halo’ and 2021’s ‘Sorella Minore’ also have a thematic link. Coincidence? Luck of the draw? More fuel for exposition? You decide because it’s time to crack on with this release.
To begin with, this isn’t your typical release. It only has four tracks, so if you don’t pay attention to the run time, you would be forgiven for thinking that this was simply an EP. This album clocks in at around the low 40’s in terms of minutes in length, and the lion’s share of the running time is taken up by the titular track (which also happens to be the opening track). This track is a rather impressive and ambitious 26 minutes in length and will no doubt take up the main focus of this write up also… But that will come later, for I have decided to give some air time to the other three tracks first!
“Stone”, “Take Your Shot” and “Between These Shadows” are all good examples of melodic modern progressive metal and they do deserve some recognition, because let’s face it, having to follow up on a 26 minute long track is a tall order for anyone. “Stone” is track #2 and it is a good example of emotionally expressive progressive metal. It borders on the territory of ‘ballad’ and with the excellent atmospheric control conveyed through the melancholic arrangement of instruments and vocals in terms of the sound and feel, it acts as a decent palette cleanser after the opening track of the release. Track #3; “Take Your Shot” is a high-octane modern metal/progressive number which is loaded with catchy riffs and plenty of pace. Sharp sounding guitars which have a solid tone compliment the vocal hooks and the straight forward nature of the track makes it easy to listen to – a straight forward track which has the catchy verse/chorus hooks, a build-up mid-section followed by a slick solo before a final run works great and outside of the title track, this is probably the track I enjoyed the most. Closing track; #4 “Between These Shadows” is a more stripped back ballad which once again shows off some impressive atmospheric control through vocal and instrumental expressions. Arpeggio laden progressions with softer vocals serve as a verse whilst the choruses have a little bit more presence to them. The lead guitar flourishes between the layers and on the whole, it has the feel of a ‘conclusive’ track despite being the weakest track on the album in my opinion.
Finally, we come to the main attraction, the epic 26+ minute behemoth “Sorella Minore”, a track which is conceptually linked to the band’s 2015 release and actually has a full-length video also… Yes, a full 26+ minute length music video, not a truncated one or ‘single cut’ version!
This progressive powerhouse of a track is handled by four vocalists. Wells is joined by former vocalist Nathan Peachey (vocalist on ‘Her Halo’) and also by Silvio Massaro and Jennifer Borg, (Vanishing Point and Divine Ascension, respectively). The four of them all take up roles in the track, often leading into each other, continuing the story from a different perspective or harmonising with each other to create some interesting dynamics.
The story telling through the vocals is engaging and the compositions behind them certainly help keep you engaged. With the central core musical motifs and arrangements being present throughout the long track to act as anchors and focus points which can help orientate the listener, the musical journey covers a vast array of stylistic approaches and executions. The work of the keys/synths/samples superbly augments the traditional instrumental work of the band and the way all these musical components interact with each other throughout the duration is impressive. From subtle shifts in the intensity of the drums as the mood/musical scene changes to the discrete Hammond Organ lines augmenting the guitars to the full-on progressive metal soaring lead sections and screaming lead guitar tones, everything is precisely arranged to have the maximum impact on the listener and to convey the story in the lyrics to its fullest extent.
There aren’t many bands that can churn out a 26+ minute long song and keep people entertained. Thankfully, the way Teramaze carry themselves on ‘Sorella Minore’, it is almost as if it is a collection of shorter musical movements which combine to make the singular song with those core motifs mentioned earlier being the anchor points which allow for both orientation and familiarity. It is an impressive track and worthy of the praise many have given it already!
In all, “Sorella Minore” is a good progressive release. Naturally, the titanic title track takes the lion’s share of the attention and praise, but if the band continue on with material which has a musical delivery similar to what was featured on ‘SM’ and ‘Take Your Shot’, then I can see the next release being something which has real promise. It’s just a shame that tracks #2, #3 and #4 had to follow on from the dramatic story because that is the main focus of this release and ultimately, despite trying to share some of the spotlight, it’s just too damn difficult to focus on anything else.
(8.5/10 Fraggle)
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