TEMPLEWITHIN is a brand new band and has just completed work on their first demo. The band features Mark Zonder (Fates Warning/Warlord) on drums, Wayne Findlay (M.S.G./Vinnie Moore) on guitar/keyboards/bass and Gregg Analla(Tribe of Gypsies/Seventhsign) on vocals.

In my opinion their music can be discribed as a kind of Power Metal with a strong progressive character. I was really looking forward to the music and style of TEMPLEWITHIN, so it's truly a great opportunity to experience their sound with this promotional demo release. And..yes I'm really speechless about the result.
It's a fact that all of the members are already experienced and serious in their music. No wonder that their demo sounds professional and the production is also near perfection.

Track By Track:
The opener "Swept Away" fills my ears with a typical fast paced and aggressive Metal sound with some little Dark Metal unfluences. The atmosphere of this song is a kind of dark and deep with a nice and surprising melodic chorus break half away. For the matter of that, they prove not to be afraid of some musical experiment. Gregg sounds very strong and powerful. The demo starts pretty dark, but that´s just the first song...

The 2nd track is "Deeper". Characteristic during this song is a fat, massive wall of heavy guitar but with clarity so you actually can hear the riffs and melodies. Very powerful stuff indeed and again some melodic and powerful chorus during the song. Mark gives this tune extra dimension, because of his playing is extremely strong and tight. His hard hitting style is the perfect base for this track.
More is the pity that the song ended a little unexpected with a quick fadeout.

The last tune "Shatter" is my favorite track from this demo and kicks off with a pounding drum after that a straight ahead guitar start in. This tune offers an outstanding vocal performance with various vocal styles. I'm really impressed of Gregg's voice, he has all the elements a singer need to do this kind of music. Wayne also has a great and outstanding presence in this song. Again a massive wall of guitar varied with some straight and forward playing (and a very, very nice guitarplaying in the background during the chorus). The track itself features an instantly recognizable chorus and some cool harmony vocals. Everything in this tune is balanced very well… Magnificent!

It strikes me that all the songs are in the same vein and you can hear some similarities in the sound here and there but nevertheless each song talk to oneself. After listening to the disc you wanna play it again and that's significant.
I've got a nice glimpse into what could evolve into a great band. The band is already working on the follow-up to this demo. It can only be a matter of time before TEMPLEWITHIN get signed!

MP3 samples are available for download on the band's official site. Check out the tracks 'Swept Away' and 'Deeper' at: templewithinmusic.com

Peter Mondria
August 2005