Review TEMPERANCE “Arcani”

Symphonic power metal has a natural home in Italy, with bands like Rhapsody of Fire being among the genre’s best-known exports. Temperance are another band firmly operating in this territory. With Arcani, the Italians deliver their eighth studio album, adding another chapter to a story that has been steadily evolving since 2014.

Tarot is the album’s central theme, tying its 13 tracks together. Each song represents a different card from the Major Arcana, starting with “The Fool” and eventually reaching “The World.” One of Temperance’s key assets is their three-vocalist setup, which gives the band plenty of room to vary their sound and shift the focus from one voice to another. “Death: Right Before We Die” is a good example, with its hymn-like character turning it into one of the album’s more expressive moments.

With “The Tower: Lean Into Fear,” Temperance put the power-metal side of their sound more firmly in the spotlight. Darker riffs and Kristin Starkey’s rougher vocal approach give the track a heavier, moodier edge, providing a welcome twist in the album’s flow. The dominant force, however, remains melody, as demonstrated by the catchy “Temperance: Forgiveness,” where the interplay between the different voices once again works in the band’s favor.

“The Chariot: Alla Ricerca dell’America” adds Italian vocals and piano passages to the mix, while “Wheel of Fortune: Come and Call Me” combines electronic elements with driving riffs without making either side feel out of place.

One of the album’s strongest tracks is “The Moon: The Man of Moonlight,” where the different ingredients of the Temperance sound come together particularly well. Once again, it is the melodies that do the real heavy lifting—and they have a knack for sticking around.

We are slowly approaching the end of the album, with only two cards left to play. “The Hanged Man: Petrichor” takes center stage here, and it may well be the album’s most cinematic moment. Starkey gets plenty of room to show the full range of her voice, while the song itself moves between different textures and dynamics.

Arcani shows an Italian symphonic metal band staying firmly on the course it has chosen while continuing to refine the formula. The lineup changes of 2023 are no longer something that needs explaining – they are simply part of the past. What matters now is the unit standing in front of us: a band with three distinctive voices, a clear sense of melody, and enough symphonic polish to give its metal the shine it needs without sanding away the edges.