It has been my experience of late that the progressive creations that I tend to find myself experiencing are part of pushing the boundaries of intensity in the world of metal be it from supremely technical acts like Demonstealer or creations that take the progressive aspects as mere flavorful enhances rather than a driving force to take the music above and beyond. Parius was the last band for a long time that I’ve been able to fall into a work that calls itself progressive and really feel as though any potential promise was followed through by the band. I wasn’t sure what I was going to get when I first stepped into the latest work from Teramaze, and I haven’t felt anything close to this since before Parius and long before then.

To have paid attention to much of what went down in the world of progressive metal or rock during the pandemic years was to be acutely aware of the name of Teramaze for they did anything but sit still and allow the years to roll on by. Six full-length albums in four years is enough to bring any band to their creative limits for all the right reasons with only the most exceptional able to persevere in such a way that they can still craft music that is still worthy of being dubbed quality, and Teramaze clearly shows themselves to be exceptional. As if we needed any further icing on that cake for proof, “Dalla Volta” offers a continuation forward for Teramaze while still giving credit and reverence to what has come before. Overall, this album has material new and old with the new simply Teramaze continuing down the path that they have been forging for years now with the dynamic and ever-changing nature of “Dalla Volta” really showing us what they’re capable of in every capacity. Whether it’s with gorgeous piano works, progressive passages that leave the jaw on the floor for all that’s able to be pulled off in not even five minutes, or reworking past tracks to give them a modern embodiment like they deserve, there is more than enough to digest with all that “Dalla Volta” puts before the listener. No two tracks sound the sound, the very whole of the record is viciously transformative from one minute to the next, and Teramaze always knows how to keep you utterly rooted in place as their craft cannot be categorized as anything other than astounding.

This is the kind of progressive material that we’re always in desperate need of no matter what is happening or who is dishing out new music. Teramaze had no need to prove anything to anybody with this album for their reputation truly precedes them, and it’s with that freedom that you can feel how true to themselves they feel within this record as it is every given track that shows us just how dynamic and multi-dimensional they are right from the very get-go. “Dalla Volta” has a lot to absorb be it for fans new or old, and I defy anyone to say that Teramaze didn’t succeed as they sought greater heights with this bold effort.

LISTEN to “Dalla Volta” on Bandcamp here.

LIKE Teramaze on Facebook here.