The concept behind progressive metal’s latest and greatest super group started when guitarist Eric Gillette and keyboard player Diego Tejeida were touring the world with Mike Portnoy’s Shattered Fortress. But TEMIC didn’t unlock the full scope of their powers until they joined forces with the tender, piercing falsetto of Fredrik Klemp (Maraton) and high-flying, hard-hitting drummer Simen Sandnes.
Watch Simen stomp through an unedited playthrough of “Friendly Fire”: https://youtu.be/lUyi9DViHqc?si=Z1E0njL-dczzphRI
Like a true professional, Simen recorded this playthrough in one take with no samples. It’s no wonder then that The ProgSpace nominated him for drum performance of the year.
“Friendly Fire” is a sizzling instrumental off TEMIC’s debut album. The band are also nominated for best vocals, guitar, keyboard and debut full-length album of the year.
Vote for TEMIC: https://theprogspace.com/awards2023/
It’s no surprise that Simen Sandnes is so fleet of foot, either. After all, Simen did play soccer semi-professionally up until he was 16 years old. Once he reached high school though, the Norwegian prodigy spent most of his days locked inside his school’s rehearsal space. Now, two decades later, he’s endorsed by Zildjian and Mapex.
When he’s not crushing cymbals or somersaulting through fills, Simen splits his time drumming for blackjazz band SHINING and the prog. metal band Arkentype. He’s also played on an official World Cup song and the Kingdom Hearts soundtrack.
“Friendly Fire” isn’t just another tune”, Simen says. “It’s a testament to our musical journey and the relentless pursuit of pushing boundaries.
“My main goal for the song was to empower the driving melodies that Diego had created while adding my own signatures, such as a 135 bpm Hertas and some superimposed metric modulations—all while ensuring the song’s integrity. As always, I strive to bring genuine performance to the metal scene. This is a one-take recording, free from editing, quantization, fixing or samples. What you see and hear is exactly as I recorded it. The playthrough was recorded in my favorite studio, Top Floor Studios, with my all-time favorite engineer, Jakob Herrmann.”
The song’s drum transcription will be available for download on Simens’ website.
Terror Management Theory is out now.
Order: https://redirect.season-of-mist.com/Temic
Stream: https://orcd.co/tmtpresave
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