Turning Virtue - A Temporary Human Existence (Self-Released)

A progressive quartet from Buffalo, New York, Turning Virtue has just recently put out their new album, A Temporary Human Existence, mixed by Pearl Jam and U2 engineer Tim Palmer. Although much of the music has strong pop ties, there exists a current of metal influences flowing through it as well, a fact substantiated even further by Warlord member Mark Zonder drumming on the album. This amalgamation of different styles creates a fascinating tension produced by the dichotomy of the pretty and the aggressive; both often existing within the same song, as on “Transcend.”

There also exists a virile streak of pure rock that verges on hair metal, and nowhere is this more obvious than on the album’s screaming centerpiece, “Fall In Love With the World.” This thread continues on the brooding Black Sabbath dirge of “Theody.” But the band’s sound truly works best with a light, somewhat psychedelic take on prog rock that blossoms on songs from “Dreamin’” to the beautiful closer, “Salty Tears.” A Temporary Human Existence is an album that occasionally struggles and fails to find its footing, but it also shows a band with a lot more to show with an identity that will only solidify from further releases.