Tempesta – Unbounded

Swiss band Tempesta was founded in 1994 by Reto Thalmann, and released their first demo in 1995, and in 2002 released their debut album, ‘Platinum’.  Several albums have been released since then, and the band has played concerts supporting bands including ZZ Top, Good Charlotte, Krokus and Billy Idol.

First of all I have to admit that until I was sent ‘Unbounded’ to review, I had never heard of Tempesta.  After listening to the album, I’m really surprised I hadn’t heard of them – they make some great music and I’ve really enjoyed listening to the album.

What you get on the album are nine new tracks plus two live tracks, although actually its only eight new songs plus a short intro.  Ignoring the very short intro, the album kicks off with ‘Crazy’.  It’s a great track that fans of Nickelback are going to love.  It’s very radio-friendly but has enough power in the guitars to keep it heavy enough for most rock fans.  It’s a great start to the album and is very typical of the bulk of the album – great radio friendly rock.

‘I’m back’ is a live track and sounds great. It’s a great song and sounds great live, and I thought the end with the guitar playing a spot of Metallica was a nice bit.

‘The way it is (live)’ is an oddity – it’s got more of a country feel than a rock feel to it.  It’s a good song but I’m not sure how well it would go down with many rock fans.

Tempesta make the sort of radio friendly rock that has made Nickelback into massive stars playing Arenas, so it’s surprising that Tempesta aren’t much bigger internationally than they are.

‘Unbounded’ is out now.

Rating: 9/10

Track listing:

1. Intro
2. Crazy
3. The going rate
4. Children of innocents
5. I’ll be your only one
6. All I ever wanted
7. Living room
8. Wait
9. The way you love me
10. I’m back – Live
11. The way it is – Live

Tempesta are:

Reto Thalmann – Guitar & Vocals
Pascal Fuchs – Guitar
Rudy Kaelin – Bass
Armin Bruhwiler – Drums