Album Review: Tempest by Telepathy

UK instrumental titans Telepathy release their sophomore album Tempest on 31^st March via Golden Antenna Records. Recorded, mixed and mastered at London’s Orgone Studios by lauded producer /engineer Jaime Gomez Arellano (Ghost, Opeth, Paradise Lost, Altar of Plagues, Cathedral), Tempest follows in the footsteps of Telepathy’s critically acclaimed 2014 debut 12 Areas and is very much a concept record.

Tempest depicts the harrowing journey of a person beset with grief and faced with total isolation after awaking from a great flood. The album guides the listener on a journey through awakening, desolation and finally acceptance. Where its predecessor 12 Areas was by intention a chaotic and furious exploration of sound, Tempest marks a shift towards a more balanced and open sonic palette. More dynamic, spacious and refined than before, but with an added emphasis on sonic weight, unbridled heaviness, melody and emotional depth.

The blend of post-metal, sludge, doom and black metal is captivating, suckering you in and keeping you entranced for the full 50 odd minutes. Six minute plus epics are the order of the day, with crushing riffs playing the perfect antithesis to the almost post-rock-esque dynamics.

To appreciate it fully you’ve got to listen to it as a complete piece of work. The flow of the album takes you on an emotionally stunning and vibrant journey from the bleak atmospherics through the crushing doom and assaults you with blistering black metal moments.

Even picking out individual tracks would do Tempest a bit of a disservice. Whilst individual track work as single entities it’s when they’re placed with the others that they really come to the fore. Take centrepiece ‘Echo of Souls’ as an example. The fact that it takes in all the elements of the surrounding tracks – particularly blending the black metal vocal parts and blast beats alongside doomy riffs and post metal atmospherics – sounds so much better when placed between the also stunning ‘Celebration of Decay’ and ‘Apparition’.

If you want a reference point, imagine somebody ramping up the riffs and emotional hit of Russian Circles. It’s a challenging journey, but one you’ll find very rewarding. Give it your full attention and lose yourself in the atmosphere.

AD Rating 8/10