“Tempus Veritas:” “in time for truth.” Latin, from tempus “time” + veritas “truth, truthfulness.” Truth is revealed as time passes, and from stories and legends past, there is truth. Progressive metal stars Black Orchid Empire wrestle with both of these ideas in their fourth album, Tempus Veritas. From the fading silence of the old Norse gods to the deadly silence in the aftermath of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D., Black Orchid Empire seek answers and truth amidst racing riffs, grooving drums, and soaring choruses.
Many prog metal bands truck in concept albums. Progressive music has lent itself to that as early as the 60s. Personal lives, epic dramas, science fiction (see Black Orchid Empire’s last album Sempahore for some good prog science fiction) are all common subjects for concept albums. With Tempus Veritas, however, The English rockers have taken that old concept album lens and turned it backwards into history. The concept of Tempus Veritas: there is truth to be found in time. ‘The Raven’ asks how it would feel to be a Norse settler amongst the Saxons, when the ancient gods began to disappear. A raven would be sign enough, but the gods are silent. ‘Deny The Sun’ considers how Pope Urban VIII took the news Galileo gave to his friend about the true nature of the solar system. How did native tribes and people groups in the new world feel about gold-seeking European explorers exploiting and killing them during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries? That is the subject of the absurdly catchy ‘Glory To The King’. Abstract concept albums can be challenging to piece together, but Black Orchid Empire nail it here.
“Abstract concept albums can be challenging to piece together, but Black Orchid Empire nail it here. ”
Tempus Veritas is more than just thematically engaging; Black Orchid Empire also bring the musical complexity through some smooth grooves and delightful riffs. From the surprising closing of ‘Hydrogen’ to the heaviness of ‘Last Ronin’ and ‘Weakness’, these prog rockers know what they’re doing. There are lovely Easter eggs that reveal themselves with successive listens, like the clock sound from Billy Freedom’s drums during a line about time in ‘Deny The Sun’. Or maybe it’s something less obvious, like the bassline in ‘Hydrogen’; effective, without stealing the spotlight. Tempus Veritas rewards every listen, but it is not without some faults.
Although it’s a tried and true formula, the “loud-riff-soft-verse-skyscraping-chorus” approach wears threadbare quickly. When it’s done well, as on ‘Glory To The King’, one of the most memorable singles on the album, it’s done spectacularly well. After six or seven tracks of that, though, songs tend to blend together. Throughout much of the album, the dynamics feel stuck in an inoffensive median between the aggression that peeks out in ‘Hydrogen’ and the quiet beauty of ‘Scarlet Haze’ As a result, only a couple tracks shine after the last notes dissipate. Some shine for the wrong reasons, unfortunately, as ‘Weakness’ is home to heavy music’s most bizarre “blegh”, and that’s saying something.
“Tempus Veritas rewards every listen.”
The reality is, though, Black Orchid Empire are great at what they do. The grooves and choruses are all here; the only real problem is that too much of a good thing leaves the specifics rather unmemorable. Unmemorable or not, though, once ‘Hydrogen’ starts, it’s difficult to stop listening to Tempus Veritas because it does truly rock all the way through. Tempus Veritas? More like Tempus Fugit, because time does flies when you’re having fun.