EP Review: Telomyras by Telomyras (Self Released)

Seattle based heavy metal quintet Telomyras are set to release their self-titled debut EP on February 18th.

Inspired by both classic and contemporary metal bands, Telomyras writes riff-driven music with an emphasis on melodic phrasing, punctuated by progressive elements. The collection of songs on the EP represents the band’s musical vision, which embraces both the darkness and the light with triumphant exclamation. The musical performances are influenced by a range of metal genres, such as thrash, power, and traditional heavy metal. The powerful vocal performance and lyrics comment on conflict and change through the lens of myth, personal strife, and the reality of the world we live in.

The EP, Telomyras, was recorded at Hanger 12 Studios and was engineered and mixed by Cody Brumlow with the band logo by Erich Lough and EP artwork by Sam Haglund.

Telomyras is Sammie Gorham on vocals, Travis Busby on drums, Eric Thomas on bass with Ephraim Grimm and Jack Schonher on guitars.

Telomyras kicks off with high energy in a blizzard of thrashy riffs and drums with Cambion. It’s a high octane start, with some nice melodic lead guitars amidst the whirlwind. The vocals are clean and have plenty of power and force to them though occasionally they overpower the music a bit. The music and vocals take a darker, more sinister turn as the song progresses with some nice shouts and a gravelly edge to the tone. Chuck in a banging solo and you have rocking track that demands heads bang and pits move.

Colorless goes for the blazing lead guitars approach with a fast and fiery start that instantly captures your attention. Strong drums, thick bass rhythm and neat riffs make for a cracking track. The vocals are strong and powerful, hitting some soaring highs in the intro but holding back for a darker, more subtle tone as the song progresses. There is still a bit of an issue with the mix in that when the vocals go full power, they take over the music rather than gel nicely with it. Things you can forgive on a debut, but also when the quality of the different components is of this high a standard.

First Blood switches the style up a b it with a stretched melodic intro. The melody is nice and the softer vocals blends nicely with the echoing, soft guitar tones. As expected it does explode into life not too long in with a catchy rolling rhythm. The bass and drum foundation in this track impresses massively, really setting a strong core for the vocals and lead guitars to work from. The solo, all of them, are great but I especially love the extended one which stretches for not far off two minutes and just hits you with a wall of thundering riffage and blazing high pitch leads.

The penultimate track on Telomyras is Hydra and brings more thrash/traditional heavy metal sounds to our ears. Strong riffs, powerful clean vocals lead up to a decent chorus. Song sections are separated by little blasts of lead guitars and we get another strong solo as well. We close the EP out with Throne of Ruin.

I was very pleased to see another slight switch in style here, which just goes to showcase some of the creativity within Telomyras as we start off with a dark, sombre but gorgeous melody and some gentle singing. It transforms into a raging beast of a track with the catchiest of rhythms so far. I really like the flow of this track, while it isn’t massively different to the rest of the EP, it is so on beat, so catchy that it just seems to flow more naturally. The vocals are fantastic, showcasing some serious power. The guitar solo, fast and fiery – a real neck breaker of a track to close out a debut EP of high quality.

Telomyras clearly have a lot of talent and the relatively lengthy EP (5 tracks but around 26 minutes of music) is fun and engaging to listen to. There are definite issues to my ear with the mix where on occasion the vocal power completely consumes the music and you have to strain to even hear a drum beat. They are intermittent though so not a real downer on a release that show Telomyras as a band full of talent and ambition, and with enough of a niche thanks to the occasional progressive touch that they could make a real impact on the scene.

Telomyras is a strong release, one that will energise you, make you want to move and make you bang your head in its fiery attack of punchy riffs and powerful melodies.

Grab a copy of Telomyras from the band at their Bandcamp, here.

Telomyras Links

Bandcamp – Facebook – Twitter – Instagram – YouTube – Spotify