Tenet - Sovereign |
Published September 02 2009
|
|
|
Being And Nothingness* |
| Genre | Thrash Metal |
Steve "Zetro" Souza
|
Vocals
|
| Tracks | 9 |
Jed Simon
|
Guitar
|
| Runningtime | 34 Min. |
Glen Alvelais
|
Guitar
|
| Label | Century Media |
Byron Stroud
|
Bass
|
| Release | 20 July 2009 |
Gene Hoglan
|
Drums
|
| Country | USA |
-
|
Keyboard
|
| Similar artists | Exodus, Testament, Overkill | ||
Summertime is usually a slow period when it comes to interesting releases, but Tenet makes the perfect exception to that fact. A band named Tenet might not stir up that much attention, but when I say that the band features members with a past or a present in bands like Exodus, Strapping Young Lad, Zimmer's Hole, Fear Factory, Death, Dark Angel and Forbidden I presume I have gained your full attention. The band initially was brought to life by guitarist Jed Simon (Strapping Young Lad, Zimmer's Hole) in 1996 but it isn't until now the time is right and the band was completed ready to deliver one real display of strength with their debut-album, entitled Sovereign.
What made the band wake my attention was the addition of vocalist Steve Souza who is a personal favourite of mine. Some might find his voice obnoxious but when he unleashes his primal screams in the opening Being Nothingness I am loving it to the fullest. The opening song is a true thrash attack of the brutal kind yet with class and elegance, and it is some serious old-school thrash that is beaten out by this skilled quintet. Not least by Gene Hoglan (Death, Dark Angel, Strapping Young Lad) that is an insane drummer, meant in a positive sense, as he is going berserk behind his kit. Tenet is not just about lashing out old-school thrash, even if they do exactly that very well, but moreover you hear that there is substance and further a knowledge behind it all as in the track Unnameable for example.
Tenet deliver exactly in the way that I like my thrash to be executed; fast, brutal and with no compromises yet with an elegant twist and a sense for melodies and screaming guitars performed with great skill. The guitar-lines that enrich and give another layer to the raw sound are perfectly displayed in the track Hail! Hail! in which I especially love the guitars since the shredding is blended with a break of great leads and solo parts. Crown Of Thorns also includes some nice shredding in this Exodus pastiche but it the phrasing from Steve Souza that puts the final touch on this one as he is spitting out the lyrics.
Exodus is probably the closest comparison to Tenet, most likely I draw that conclusion because of the vocals but it isn't a farfetched comparison, nevertheless when you feel the urge of something more to listen to in the veins of Tempo Of The Damned, this is it.
Other bands I can compare with in order to describe how Tenet sound is Overkill, especially with the track Going Down that is more modest with its pace. Not that Overkill always is modest in tempo but the pulsating rhythm of this one reminds me of when they are. A hint of Slayer can be found in Watching You Burn which is another one with a restrained tempo with brilliant guitars but that is mostly reminiscent of Testament in structure with a powerful groove and screaming lead guitars. Sovereign is an album that is being kept short, nine songs in less than 35 minutes leaves you longing for more and a wish that they could have been elaborated some of the songs a bit more.
Initially I felt this album was splendour from the beginning
to the excellent and mighty ending title-track, but the awe settles
after a while and perhaps it is not a future thrash-classic, but it
is damn good entertainment for the time being.
|
Performance
|
Originality
|
Production
|
Vocals
|
Songwriting
|
|
8 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
7 |
|
Summary
|
||||
|
7 chalices of 10 - Thomas |
||||
|
Related links: |
 |