ALBUM REVIEW: Flight Of The Wounded – Teramaze

After almost 30 years in the music industry, you would think that TERAMAZE have said all they want to say, but you couldn’t be more wrong. After completing a total of three studio albums in a 12-month period in the height of the COVID-19 lockdown, there are truly no signs of TERAMAZE stopping anytime soon. This doesn’t mean that the band haven’t faced numerous challenges throughout their musical journey; the biggest being the change up of their lead vocalist back in 2019. As a result, they enlisted current guitarist Dean Wells to start providing lead vocals for the band.

The Australian progressive metal group are now back again with a bang, about to release their 10th LP Flight Of The Wounded. This is the fourth album with Wells on vocal duty; a voice that TERAMAZE‘s fans have come to accept and adore. It seems as though this new release is going to be slightly different to the rest, with Wells himself stating that Flight Of The Wounded incorporates “lyric deliveries as strong or as vulnerable as possible, as well as experimenting with the more gravely tones in my voice.” It is safe to say that we are more than ready to hear what this album brings.

Opening with the title track, this one’s introduction is somewhat creepy and haunting, with some almost symphonic instrumentals taking the lead. Before too long, a strong metal guitar riff is the main contender. As the song goes on, we grow more and more impressed with the sheer level of guitar work heard here, and when Wells‘ vocals kick in he provides a pleasant contrast between the boldness of the instrumentals. This is such an impactful opening track. Gold is up next, which starts off well with a thundering riff at the helm. This is another song that contains some fantastic guitar riffs, not to mention a seriously infectious chorus which just exudes so much emotion – it’s absolutely fantastic. The Thieves Are Out begins with a riff that sounds like a calmer version of Tears Don’t Fall by BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE. This song is much slower than what we have already heard, and with that comes less memorability. We feel like the song goes on for a little too long, unfortunately.

Until The Lights begins as a slow, emotional ballad, adopting almost a theatrical style which is second to none, whereas Tickets To The Next Apocalypse diverts back to their usual heavier sound. Unexpectedly, we are also treated to some unclean vocals from Wells nearer the end of the track which are insanely good. At this point, we are truly starting to recognise how talented Wells really is.

For The Thrill begins with Wells‘ engaging vocals, before leaping in with another brilliant chorus that keeps us intrigued to the last second. Dangerous Me is in a similar vein. However, it just seems as though this song is filler; with no real appeal apart from some great instrumentals. Battle introduces some synthesizers into the mix, which definitely helps to change things up. The final track is In The Ruins Of Angels. The song features some striking guitar work at the very start, provided by both Wells and fellow guitarist Chris Zoupa. When the track gets slower in pace, it all gets a little underwhelming. Wells‘ vocals end up becoming pretty lacklustre, merging into the background rather quickly. Not the most imaginative closer, that’s for sure.

It is safe to say that we are significantly underwhelmed by this release. Even though there are plenty of incredible instrumentals, the songs just don’t manage to keep us engaged and intrigued. It would have been amazing to hear more unclean vocals dotted throughout the album, as a lot of the songs end up sounding pretty much identical to one another, sadly. Whilst Wells well and truly smashes his vocal delivery as promised, the album as a whole is just not terribly exciting. We would give this one a miss.

Rating: 5/10

Flight Of The Wounded is out now via Wells Music.

Like TERAMAZE on Facebook.