Tempest

[rcarlberg]

Speaking of new discoveries from Pandora, Tempest is a band I'd never heard of. Not the old Jon Hiseman band from the '70s, but a contemporary celtic rock band from Oakland with the same name. They have a Norwegian singer/mandolinist, a Cuban drummer, and a revolving crew of guitar, violin & bass. Apparently they've been together since 1988 and have released 15 albums.

Their vocals (and lyrics!) are pretty weak but the combination of heavy metal guitars, mandolin, bagpipes, didgeridoo and bodhran make for some very interesting instrumentals.

[Mister Triscuits]

Saw them locally a bunch of times in the late '80s/early '90s. In those days they were a quartet with no fiddle. Great guys.

[A. Scherze]

I've seen them about half a dozen times. Good music, good shows.

Here is a cut with keith Emerson guesting. Robert Berry produced and engineered the album, Turn of the Wheel, that it is from.

[A. Scherze]

[rcarlberg]

"Barrow Man" shows their substantial Tull influence. They've covered several Tull songs -- and well done too.

Also, may I comment on the excellent balance between instruments? Not easy to do with the variety and quantity they use, but everything is clearly audible and distinct. Excellent mixage!

[progholio]

I've seen this band more times than I can remember, always thought they would be a great fit for one of the festivals (especially Progday). To me they sit somewhere between Fairport Convention and Tull which is fine by me. My favorite albums are the more current ones like Another Dawn and Double Cross, as the writing (lyrical and musical) definitely gets stronger with age. Gravel Walk is mighty fine too.
They currently have a guy named Greg Jones on guitar who more than slightly resembles Garth on Wayne's World and plays these oddball pawn shop guitars, but be careful 'cause the guy will tear your fucking head off.

Catch them if you can.

[Zeuhlmate]

The barrowman also reminds me of Mountain: One last cold kiss. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSpGrC2Dgy4


Do you know Hedningarna? Go for their 2. and 3. release (Hedningarna means The Heathens - its a Swedish/Finnish band, kind of folkmusic + Magma)

[rcarlberg]

They currently have a guy named Greg Jones on guitar who more than slightly resembles Garth on Wayne's World and plays these oddball pawn shop guitars, but be careful 'cause the guy will tear your fucking head off.

[SteveSly]

I have several of their albums and have always liked them. There is definitely a Tull vibe to some of their stuff. They tour all the time yet have never played anywhere close to where I live that I am aware of, so have never seen them live.

Steve Sly

[SteveSly]

I've seen this band more times than I can remember, always thought they would be a great fit for one of the festivals (especially Progday). .

Catch them if you can.

Yea, I have always thought these guys really would be a great fit for ProgDay. I seem to remember back at one time they may have been looked into, but if I remember right they tended to play a lot of higher paying / bigger shows on holiday weekends, which tended to cut them out of the running over Labor Day.

Steve Sly

[rcarlberg]

Do you know Hedningarna?

Yeah, I fell in love with Hedningarna and all that other North Side stuff on ESD when it came out: Hedningarna, Väsen, Hoven Droven, Garmarna, Värttinä, Wimme, JPP, Gjallarhorn.... yeah, some massively cool stuff. Hoven Droven far & away my favorite.

[A. Scherze]

[Dan Roth]

Tempest are back with a new album and a cover of Roger McGuinn's pirate shanty Jolly Roger, co-produced by Robert Berry:

[GuitarGeek]

I ran the merchandise table for them when they played here about 15 years ago. Good band.

[moecurlythanu]

I'm still on their mailing list. They send out a postcard with tour dates every so often. They're going to be on tour soon.

[loshammeros]

Buffalo Jump!!!

[spellbound]

Saw Tempest a couple weeks ago. Their newsletter linked me to a full concert:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dymz1k7ASRo&t=79s

Enjoy!

[veteranof1000psychicwars]

Yeah, I fell in love with Hedningarna and all that other North Side stuff on ESD when it came out: Hedningarna, Väsen, Hoven Droven, Garmarna, Värttinä, Wimme, JPP, Gjallarhorn.... yeah, some massively cool stuff. Hoven Droven far & away my favorite.

Just a nugget of prog trivia, the guy who founded Hoven Droven was a member of Myrbein, whose album Myrornas Krig is a 70s Swedish prog classic. Reissued by APM many moons ago.