HUMAN TEMPLE – Halfway to Heartache
- by Matt Coe
- Posted on 25-01-2012
Bombastic intro plus an air raid defense siren signals the beginning strains of album number three for Finnish melodic metal/ hard rock act Human Temple. The opener “I Will Follow” contains a spirited guitar harmony reminiscent of early Elegy as well as some flowery keyboards and an epic instrumental break that would be the perfect marriage between Whitesnake with Dream Theater. Other tracks like the more commercial leaning “Bleeding Through” or “Almost There” have the arena rock framework of artists like House Of Lords or Dokken, as vocalist Janne Hurme resonates with those silky smooth tenor melodies.
“Halfway To Heartache” stagnates in too many lightweight moments where the vocal harmonies are unconvincing (“Run Away”) or the music is merely too cliché and lifeless (closing ballad “She Talks To Angels”). I’ve read good things about Human Temple in the past, but on this third album they aren’t really swinging for the fences, they just feel uninspired compared to many of their younger contemporaries.