TEMPLE BALLS – Pyromide (Album Review)

TEMPLE BALLS - Pyromide (Album Review)
TEMPLE BALLS – Pyromide

Temple Balls are an energetic hard rock band from Finland. Pyromide, their Frontiers debut and third album overall, is a tour de force of melodic hard rock that sees the band pushing themselves onto the world stage. Produced by none other than Jona Tee (H.E.A.T.), Pyromide is a tour-de-force of hooks, powerful rhythms, and anthemic rock ‘n roll like it was meant to be played.

That was the description of the band and album I found from the Frontiers album details page. I liked this release quite a lot and went searching for more info on the band. One of the first things that I wanted to know about was the story behind the band name. It’s such a strange name and can’t help but wonder how they came up with that. Seems that there really isn’t that much to the story. Bassist Jimi Välikangas took the name from Hanoi Rocks guitarist Andy McCoy’s autobiography ’Sheriff McCoy’ when he was a kid.

This release is full of great catchy melodic hard rock that walks a fine line between melodic rock and sleaze/glam metal. There are great riffs, hooks and melodies and gang vocals throughout the album. The keyboards complement the songs and are just perfect in the mix. I hear Crazy Lixx and Crashdïet vibes all through the album.

The Songs:

The album kicks off with “Thunder from the North”. A great representation of what the listener can expect. Strong vocals, riffs and catchy chorus. Brings you back to the great 80’s metal scene. It continues with the next song “Long Ways, Long Lies”.

“Fallen Youth” and “What is Dead Never Dies” are on the heavier side and they get better with every listen. Great memorable choruses.

“T.O.T.C” (Thrill of the chase) has a Skid Row feel with great gang vocals and chorus with great guitars as well.

The sleaze comes out in “Bad, Bad, Bad”. Listening to this in the car you can’t help but just crank it up. I guarantee you end up singing along by the end of the song and hit the repeat button and listen again. One of my favourites off this album.  This is going to be a crowd favourite once the live shows start up again.

“Unholy Night” is another stand-out track. The guitar work in the solo is just fantastic as are the backing vocals in the chorus.

The only downside for me is the ballad “If Only I could”. I’m not a fan of ballads but the vocals are nicely done but I could do without it. It’s the only song I skip.

Final Thoughts:

If you are a fan of glam/sleaze metal then you need to get this one. This will be one of my top 10 of the year that is for sure. I find myself listening to this album quite a lot and it just gets better. Great vocals, guitars, and memorable songs. I’m going to go back and check out their other two releases. Another great band to add to the list of great Scandinavian bands out there.

Also, find more of my CGCM reviews here: Ivan Galesic

Ivan Galesic

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Tracklisting

  1. Thunder From The North 3:40
  2. Long Ways, Long Lies 3:32
  3. T.O.T.C. 3:16
  4. Fallen Youth 3:25
  5. Bad Bad Bad 3:44
  6. What Is Dead Never Dies 3:16
  7. Unholy Night 4:26
  8. Heart Of A Warrior 4:58
  9. You Better Run 3:20
  10. If Only I Could 5:28
  11. Something To Die For 4:37

Total running time: 43:47

Temple Balls are:

Arde Teronen – Vocals

Jimi Välikangas – Bass

Jiri Paavonaho – Guitar

Niko Vuorela – Guitar

Antti Hissa – Drums

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5e280Op6cY[/embedyt]

 

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsyAsTJwoWY[/embedyt]

2 thoughts on “TEMPLE BALLS – Pyromide (Album Review)

  1. Great review! “What is Dead Never Dies” and “TOTC” are my favorites, but it’s definitely a play-through album full of great tracks.

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