In 2014 TEMPEST RISING released their debut album "Transmutation". Now depending on who you talk to this album can be pretty polarizing among Metalcore fans. At the time there were some that saw TEMPEST RISING as an energetic fresh new future for Metalcore and on the other end of the spectrum there were others who saw them as talented, but generic. With the release of there newest album "Alter Ego", this tug-of-war of opinions is likely to continue.

Its apparent from the opening track "Fuck the Scene", that TEMPEST RISING likes speed (distance over time...not amphetamines). The song is a thrash heavy romp through the weeds that embraces all the basic identifiers of early 2000's Metalcore that was brought to you by ALL THAT REMAINS, BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE, and KILLSWITCH. Catchy guitar licks gallop and harmonize while double bass pedal paints the background.  Its franticly paced and full of that angry Red Bull drunk immediacy fast metal fans love. The song is a lot fun and unlike a good portion of the album doesn't really fall victim to the harsh-verse-to-clean-chorus formula so common among the genre. Don't get me wrong Vin Trikeriotis' clean, power metal style vocals are present, but they work with the mosh-pit not against. "Ghosts", "Curb Stomp", and "Ostracize Me", are similar in their execution. The final track "Breathe", is a nice mishmash of styles and Vin Trikeriotis tonally finds a sweet spot that elevates the song above the others.

While there aren't a lot of "bad" things to be said about musicianship of TEMPEST RISING, the songwriting does rely heavily on well established identifiers of Metalcore. Sure, you could argue that there is enough variety in the writing because of some nuance use of Groove, Nu-Metal, and Thrash. Heck, some might even say TEMPEST is more of a Progressive band. But to my ears, and I'm sure to the ears of many, you're going to feel as if you've heard this done many times before by many other bands. Now that's not saying that songs aren't well written and well played, it just makes you feel as if "Alter Ego" would've been a bigger album 12 years ago, and a lot of Metalcore albums of that time there is a formula among the songs. What you get with one song you pretty much get with them all.

At the end of the day, "Alter Ego" isn't a bad album and TEMPEST RISING isn't a bad band. This underground group from Perth, who have already turned heads and shared the stage with some top named acts, work well with what they got. To fans this is going to be a solid experience, and there will no doubt be plenty of talk about the natural progression the band has made with their second outing. For others "Alter Ego" will come off feeling all too familiar. But hey, some travel "home" because it's familiar and unchanging, while others would rather seek the horizon. Neither is wrong.