Customer Reviews

Serrated Edge

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This album is more obviously folky than some of their later albums, but not one of the songs is a dud. A good mixing of flute and electric guitar. I like the sound of Sorbye's voice - a distinctive accent that you're tempted to think is English or Scottish but is actually Norwegian. "Dark Lover" should satisfy any vampire fan out there. "Tam Lin" and "Mad Tom of Bedlam" are great as well.

This album is the closest I have heard to what the live show is like. Nothing beats seeing them live but this album captures some of the raw power and energy that the others I have heard do not. If you get a chance to see them live it is worth skipping work and doing whatever you have to do to see them live.
KKM

Bay Area band Tempest puts a 90s spin on Celtic rock and British Isles folk-rock, as it was pioneered by bands like Fairport, Steeleye Span, Horslips. This album features high-energy versions of traditional tunes like "Whisky in the Jar", "House Carpenter", etc., and sets of reels, as well as a few original tunes. Lief Sorbye's gravelly voice, combined, with the band's folksy stylings(including the use of flute, fiddle, and mandolin), may remind some folks of Jethro Tull. The two strongest tracks here, IMHO, are the ghost-ballad "House Carpenter" which is done with high drama (including a haunting flute intro and powerful fiddle and guitar solos) and "Tam Lin" (which is a very different interpetation of the tune that was made popular by Fairport). Of the ten albums the band has put out at the time I write this, this is by far their strongest and most heavily Celtic. Folks who like Celtic/folk rock ought to eat this album right up-- although folk purists probably ought to stay away.