Hailing from Brazil Tempestt, with two T’s, are introducing Europe to their own brand of progressive hard rock via this, their debut album release on March 28th. before this however the band undertake a European tour as special guests/touring partners of one Jeff Scott Soto. The pan being that Tempestt in fact  open the show then back Soto for his portion of the gig.

Starting life as a covers project this heritage perhaps shows in the songs Tempestt have compiled for Bring 'Em On with many of the tracks bearing a reference or the hallmarks of other bands. Who those may be I‘ll leave to you to discover.. What the band have attempted to achieve, and have not quite succeeded to manage, is to blend hard rock and progressive metal into one style and at times this means Bring 'Em On seems really good whilst at other points it proves merely adequate. In all fairness after listening to the whole thing more than a score of times it's one of those albums that you just can't make your mind up about!

For the record vocalist BJ bears a passing resemblance to Hardline's Johnny Gioeli, albeit with a noticeable accent perhaps due to the fact English is his second language. The situation is helped somewhat thanks to the ubiquitous Jeff Scott Soto supplying backing vocals as well as sharing the lead on Insanity Desire, a song which shows a tip of the hat to Soto's old alumni Soul SirkUS. Highlights however are A Life’s Alibi, starting off piano led before building to almost Dream Theater like proportions and then there's Higher (I Can Land), possibly the best track on the album. It’s got huge, powerful, angry driven guitars and vocals and that go from clean one minute to angry the next. And that brings us nicely to the final track on the album, a cover of Journeys Don‘t Stop Believing .

Now I count myself as something of a Journey aficionado and whilst this version is decent enough BJ is certainly no Steve Perry. In saying that the improvisation on keyboards and guitars over the original arrangement of a song I’ve heard more times than I care to remember is impressive enough and brings something new to the table.

To sum up Tempestt, with Bring 'Em On, appear to be a band still trying to identify their own sound. The AOR/progressive style they currently deliver just doesn't quite work  and likewise the songs themselves don’t quite cut it but that band at least have the guts to go out and tour and I suspect they may just be worth catching live.

Let us know your views on Bring 'Em On

Track Listing

Faked By Time
Bring ‘Em On
A Life’s Alibi
Insanity Desire
Too High
Enemy In You
Fallen Moon
Lose Control
Healing
Higher (I Can Land)
Don’t Stop Believin´

Line Up

BJ - Vocals
Gustavo Barros - Guitars
Edu Cominato - Drums
Paulo Soza - Bass