Temic are just one album in, but they already boast an impressive resume. Diego Tejedia has played with Devin Townsend and Haken, but the keyboardist was touring with Mike Portnoy’s Shattered Fortress when he first teamed up with guitarist Eric Gillette, who’s also jammed alongside Neal Morse.
Their vision for Temic wasn’t exactly simple: synthesize their love for high-energy electronica and flashy riffs into a killer Prog Metal hybrid. But after recruiting former soccer prodigy-turned-Zildjian-endorsed drummer Simen Sandness (Shining, Arkentype) to go along with the high-powered falsetto of Fredrik Klemp (Maraton), together, this new supergroup managed to connect all those puzzle pieces on their very first album.
“Falling Away” catches Temic at the peak of their superpowers, uplifted by riffs that alternate between beefy distortion and nimble fretting, while a white-hot keyboard solo blasts off just before the drums clamp down with booming finesse.
Klemp‘s piercing vocal carries a hopeful message, too. “We will fight until the rays of light stand high,” he sings, backed by not one but two choirs during the seven-minute closer “Mothallah,” which never stops climbing toward the sky.
“The time is upon us! Today, the release of our debut album marks the culmination of TEMIC’s gestation phase. As this opus finally reaches the listeners’ ears, TEMIC is now fully born. Welcome, ‘Terror Management Theory,’ an album born from dark times, yet serving as a strong beacon of hope, inspiring us to look to the future to the precise moment it would see the light of day.”
“Terror Management Theory” comes out on Friday, November 17, 2023 and you can make your way through the whole thrilling Prog maze today. Listen to the full album stream over on their YouTube channel:
Temic came together from across the globe, but they also share a wide variety of influences.
Stream: https://orcd.co/tmtpresave
Order: https://shop.season-of-mist.com/list/temic-terror-management-theory
Tracklist:
1. TMT (2:02)
2. Through the Sands of Time (7:00)
3. Falling Away (4:58)
4. Count Your Losses (6:13)
5. Skeletons (7:00)
6. Acts of Violence (5:52)
7. Friendly Fire (5:57)
8. Paradigm (6:33)
9. Once More (5:45)
10. Mothallah (7:27)
Total: 58:54
Lineup:
Fredrik Bergersen (Maraton, 22) / Vocals
Eric Gillette (The Neal Morse Band, Mike Portnoy’s Shattered Fortress) / Guitars and Backing Vocals
Simen Sandnes (Shining, Arkentype) / Drums and Percussion
Diego Tejeida (Devin Townsend, Mike Portnoy’s Shattered Fortress, ex-Haken) / Keyboards and Sound Design
Guest Musicians:
Jacob Umansky (USA) / Bass Guitar on the whole album
Mosaic Gospel Choir (Norway) / Mothallah
Garden State Threshold Choir (USA) / Mothallah