Artist: Tempest
Country: Mexico
Label: Chaos Records
Formats: 7″ EP
Year: 2025
Tempest’s first outing, ‘Unending Torment’, was a very enjoyable debut album, but in all honesty, there was a clear lack of a determined vision. Like a lose canon on deck, that first demo was all over the place musically. Most of it might have been easy to classify as old school Death Metal, but that was certainly not all of it. As if you were listening to a completely different band, this new 7″ EP races by like a high-speed train, making it clear that the band has made some choices.
‘Unending Torment’ was released in 2023 (and reissued on cassette tape by three different labels), that means the band has been working on new material for about two years. Those two years have been very kind to the band. Not only have the audibly matured musically, Tempest has been manoeuvring their sound in much steadier waters, consequently coming across way more convincing.
The first demo was an enjoyable and far from bad start, but ‘Obscure Hallucinations’ is really a mind-boggling step-up in basically every aspect. The old school Death Metal sound with all its musical excursions has been traded for a fast-as-fuck kind of Death Metal that reminds mostly on Morbid Angel and Angelcorpse, The raw and edge and a bit of a controlled chaos are the things that makes ‘Obscure Hallucinations’ an amazing experience. The production itself is both gritty and well-balanced with the vocals and very prominently in the front, adding much to the aggressive character of the music. Otherwise it the smothering whirlwind of drums and riffs, expertly embellished with whammy-leads and dynamic antics.
It might be clear, this is definitely a must-check for anyone who has a penchant for Death Metal the non-sissy kind. The fact that this is only a 10-minute EP is most likely adding much to the impact, but there’s nothing that stops you from playing it again or a few times more. Fans of bands like Omegavortex, Concrete Winds, Abominator, Abhorration and Angelcorpse should take notice.
