{"id":39484,"date":"2014-04-19T20:01:19","date_gmt":"2014-04-20T01:01:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=39484"},"modified":"2014-04-19T20:01:19","modified_gmt":"2014-04-20T01:01:19","slug":"teramaze-esoteric-symbolism-cd-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2014\/teramaze-esoteric-symbolism-cd-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Teramaze | Esoteric Symbolism<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Alexandra Mrozowska<\/span>
\n– Columnist —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"TeramazeGone are the thrashier days of Teramaze? Yes and no. The Australian act, labeled not-so-precisely as \u201cmelodic thrash,\u201d returns with their new release Esoteric Symbolism<\/em>. Two years after their previous, critically acclaimed Anhedonia<\/em> album saw the light of day, the broad-minded metalheads from the land down under continue on their cross-genre metal crusade. And with their newly released fifth album, as it seems, they\u2019re as consequential as ever in joining the melodic and the rough in metal.<\/p>\n

The strength of the album lies in the stunning variety of shades and flavors Teramaze blends into a unique and consistent musical entity. Opened with a three minute-long all-instrumental intro \u201cAll Seeing Eye,\u201d Esoteric Symbolism<\/em> balances between the majestic power metal and the sublime progressive genre, enriching the fusion of styles with the raw echoes of their trashier musical past (\u201cPunishment By Design,\u201d \u201cDust Of Martyrs\u201d). Every track on the record is a guitar laden piece of instrumental wizardry, with focus on both heavy, groovy riffs and powerful (but at the same time, astoundingly melodic) solo parts, skillfully balanced with the dynamic performance of the band\u2019s rhythm section. <\/p>\n

Rough thrash influences intermingle here with subtle symphonic and progressive overtones, the overall tone of the record being atmospheric, brooding and somewhat darkling. The strength and aggressiveness of the vocals don\u2019t rule out neither their vibrant tone, nor their melodiousness; the performance Teramaze\u2019s lead singer Brett Rerekura gives with each and every song is a very convincing one, so to speak. From a punchy, fast-paced and aggressive \u201cTranshumanist\u201d and extremely melodic, power metal-influenced \u201cLine Of Symmetry\u201d to the progressive-infused title track, the Australian metal crew blurs the borders between genres and styles, exploring the diverse musical territories inch by inch and chord by chord.<\/p>\n

Although, as mentioned above, Teramaze are often labeled \u201cmelodic thrash\u201d and commonly associated with thrash genre, Esoteric Symbolism<\/em> is a proof there\u2019s much more to the group\u2019s style than \u201cjust\u201d this. What\u2019s more, their cross-genre endeavors are outstanding music-wise, leaving no doubt about the Aussies\u2019 musicianship as well as their songwriting skills. And although thrash metal fans will certainly enjoy their new album, so will power metal and progressive metal aficionados. Overall, Esoteric Symbolism is recommended to most metal-oriented listeners out there.<\/p>\n

Genre: Thrash, Prog-Power Metal
\nBand:
\nDean Wells \u2013 lead\/rhythm guitars, backing vocals
\nBrett Rerekura \u2013 vocals
\nJohn Zambelis \u2013 guitar
\nDean Kennedy \u2013 drums <\/p>\n

Track List:
\n1.\tAll Seeing Eye
\n2.\tLine of Symmetry
\n3.\tTranshumanist
\n4.\tBodies of Betrayal
\n5.\tParallels \/ Dual Reality
\n6.\tSpawn
\n7.\tPunishment by Design
\n8.\tDust of Martyrs
\n9.\tThe Divulgence Act
\n10.\tEsoteric Symbolism
\n11.\tvi Order Out of Chaos
\n12.\tvii Darkest Days of Symphony
\n13.\tviii In Vitro<\/p>\n

Label: Nightmare Records<\/p>\n

Website: https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/teramaze<\/a><\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven rating: 8\/10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Alexandra Mrozowska – Columnist — Gone are the thrashier days of Teramaze? Yes and no. The Australian act, labeled not-so-precisely as \u201cmelodic thrash,\u201d returns with their new release Esoteric Symbolism. Two years after their […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":39559,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10848],"tags":[2317,9148,1680,9149,9147,3216],"class_list":{"0":"post-39484","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arcrvws2014","8":"tag-cd-review","9":"tag-esoteric-symbolism","10":"tag-nightmare-records","11":"tag-prog-power-metal","12":"tag-teramaze","13":"tag-thrash"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39484","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39484"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39484\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39559"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39484"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39484"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39484"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}