TEMPTRESS
Catch the Endless Dawn LP BLACK

Dying Victims Productions, black vinyl, insert, poster, sticker, post card, download code

Formed in 2018, Italy’s TEMPTRESS was founded by members of BUNKER 66, Children of Technology, Gargoyle, and Boia with the intent of giving free rein to their passion for the dreamiest and most melancholic heavy metal bands of the ‘80s – cult names such as Proud and Randy as well as the eternal Heavy Load and Gotham City, among others – without forgetting the darkness of such masters as Mercyful Fate, all seasoned with a genuine obsession for catchy and melodic choruses. Their journey into dreams began with the two-song The Orb 7” for DYING VICTIMS in 2019, which was later compiled onto the label’s Dying Victims vol. 2: Heavy Metal Attack CD collection in 2023.

Now, the sleepers have awoken, and arrive from dreamland bearing their debut album: Catch the Endless Dawn. Truly titled, Catch the Endless Dawn sees TEMPTRESS moving measuredly, daresay silkily, across soft-haze heavy metal high on moody melody, brisk but never busy in their gait. The band’s muse is most definitely OLD metal, but there’s subtlety and an almost-hushed sense of class to their songwriting and execution that elevates the record beyond the skinny-headband & flares hordes: the former always seems pensive even when the mid-tempo pulse picks up into a relatively reined-in gallop, and the latter similarly utilizes restraint in its favor whilst conveying the requisite amount of energy. Likewise, while the realm of dreams runs parallel to the realm of fantasy, TEMPTRESS possess a palatably more delicate side compared to the D&D side of traditional metal, (dream)weaving something both emotional and hypnotic – truly, the “Dream Metal” of which they so sing here. Thus, the aforementioned influences are apt, but so are the likes of early ‘80s Rainbow, April Wine, or even Blue Öyster Cult’s unsung dream-classic Club Ninja. Wake up and Catch the Endless Dawn!