HUMAN TEMPLE – Halfway To Heartache (2012)
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With ‘Insomnia’ (2004) and 2010’s ‘Murder Of Crows’ the Finnish rock band HUMAN TEMPLE achieved a good amount of cult success and rave reviews.
The band has taken another step forward with their new album “Halfway To Heartache”, which sets the bar high for Melodic Rock in 2012.
“Halfway To Heartache” is chock full of really good Melodic Rock / Scandi AOR songs designed to put a smile on the face of any fan of the genre. A bunch of extremely catchy hooks and riffs are dominating all over the place on this new recording.
The album opens with two tracks finding Human Temple pursuing a more Hard Rock direction. “I Will Follow” is driven by hard edged riffs yet surprisingly melodic, while the lead fills are twiddly without being overtly showy. “Bleeding Through” is anthemic and bombastic, with a strong vocal performance by Janne Hurme.
After these two powerful songs, you discover that Human Temple hasn’t lost their fundamental AOR foundation, as “Like A Beat Of A Heart” starts with a monster wall of ’80s keyboards. It’s a great midtempo tune which allows bassist Harri Kinnunen to carry the verses, featuring a couple of commendable solos and plenty of old-school fist-pumping enjoyment. With its Scandinavian bent and a strong focus on backing harmonies, sonically reminds you Talisman.
Similarly, “Our World, Our Time” features some more memorable melodies and a consistent AOR hook, strung together with a lovely guitar work in both the lead and rhythm departments.
“Almost There” is a smooth and accessible Euro melodic rocker, whilst follower “Run Away” adds even more commerciality to the sound, an uptempo track with fine synths and melodic guitar lines.
Joining the band’s self written material is an oddly chosen cover tune. With potential for being an outright disaster, Fleetwood Mac’s 1987 hit “Little Lies” turns out surprisingly well moulded into Human Temple’s rock blueprint. Despite the hard rock guitars, this tune is recognizable from the off thanks to Tojander reproducing the keyboard line faithfully. Hurme’s curly lead voice does its best to pull emotion from the original lyric and although he over-sings a little, it’s a reasonable performance on a track which really shouldn’t work in this format.
To keep the sonic balance, Human Temple offers some edge again on “Because of You” creating a tune on which the band sounds very assured. Even more rockier is “Misery”, an uptempo Hard Rock song in the vein of Pretty Maids with a nice keyboard solo.
The album rounds out with a big arena AOR / melodic rocker, “Some Things Are Never Long Time Ago” [sic]. The song has a great intro utilizing a rockin’ guitar riff overlaid with some equally effective eighties keyboards presented highly in the mix. There’s a sublime chorus to back up the musical goodness, but the shining moment comes from a twin lead guitar solo (feat. Emppu Vuorinen), with just enough flashy techniques to sound impressive without being overdone.
Last track is the soaring ballad “She Talks To Angels”, where you get a good taste of vocalist Janne Hurme’s skills. It’s the kind of song that have took them into the charts back in the day.
After two successful albums under their belt, Human Temple has returned with their best recording to date, to keep that same momentum going strong.
“Halfway To Heartache” delivers a solid songwriting with your typical AOR traits alongside a strong Hard Rock edge that adds enough force and chunkiness to each song, with a vibrant melodic allure.
Lead by the enticing vocals of their charismatic lead singer Janne Hurme, the guys seem to be on a high pedestal and on the verge of tapping into the right formula for many years to come.
Well produced, arranged and performed, “Halfway To Heartache” finds Human Temple in a consistent and creative form, offering a lovable mix of old-school Melodic Hard Rock and AOR.
Recommended.
01 – I Will Follow
02 – Bleeding Through
03 – Like A Beat Of A Heart
04 – Our World Our Time
05 – Almost There
06 – Run Away
07 – Little Lies
08 – Because Of You
09 – Misery
10 – Some Things Are Never Long Time Ago
11 – She Talks To Angels
Janne Hurme : Lead Vocals
Risto Tuominen : Guitars
Kalle Saarinen : Drums
Jori Tojander : Keyboards
Harri Kinnunen : Bass
Emppu Vuorinen (Nightwish) : guest Guitar solo
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