by Steve Joyce
The pantheon of legendary prog rock supergroups traces a line from ELP, UK, Asia and Liquid Tension Experiment to Transatlantic and now, on the strength of their stellar second album, to TEMIC. The talent within TEMIC is astounding, with credits representing a “who’s who” of great modern prog. Probably most familiar to Prog Report fans will be Eric Gillette, guitarist with the NMB and Mike Portnoy’s Shattered Fortress and Diego Tejeida, ex-Haken and touring musician with Devin Townsend, handles keyboards and sound design. Singer Fredrik Klemp is vocalist for Norwegian proggers Maraton, and drummer Simen Sandnes plays for experimental/progressive band Shining. Bassist Miguel Pereira completes the formidable line-up.
As the saying goes, “if you’ve got it, flaunt it”, and TEMIC hold absolutely nothing back on “Ceiba”. Over 10 tracks and 66 minutes, the musicianship reaches supreme heights of dexterity, panache and technical excellence, while retaining a soul and an emotional heartbeat.
Ceiba is the follow-up to TEMIC’s impressive 2023 debut album, Terror Management Theory. The Prog Report’s review described it as strong and ambitious, praising the musical chemistry in the band and their ability to push boundaries while remaining accessible. High hopes, then, for this sophomore release. Believe me when I say: these hopes are emphatically fulfilled!
The new album has a fascinating if bleak concept: it’s about loss in all its various forms. The titular Ceibais a tree in Mayan culture, considered sacred for its connection to the earth, heaven and the underworld. “We love how the image of the Ceiba connect to the overarching theme of loss,” TEMIC says. (Intriguing stuff, but how about a happy record next time?) The band continues, “while more progressive than our first album, the songs are driven by honesty and emotions.”
The feels certainly come through. The album is not just an exercise in prog metal maestro-level fireworks – although there’s plenty of those to enjoy – the songs, co-written by all five members, also contain genuinely heartfelt and affecting moments. Be prepared to be exhilarated one moment and to feel a lump in the throat in the next.
Short opening track “Asunder” is a mysterious prelude that does its job of saving you from being startled out of your skin when first song proper “Ashes” blasts off. And what a song! It’s a double-kick-fuelled riff frenzy, with syncopated and synchronised guitars and synths hurtling at breakneck speed like a runaway locomotive that just manages to stay on the track. Drummer Sandnes is also phenomenal here. The song boasts an anthemic chorus and the first of several shredding Gillette guitar solos, matched by synth wizardry from Tejeida.
“Beyond The Voice” follows a similar template, with passionate vocals by Klemp. There are several passages on this album where he sounds as good as, and similar to, Einar Solberg, and there’s no higher compliment a prog singer can receive than that. This song thrills with a rousing chorus and another blistering guitar solo.
TEMIC’s symphonic metal side is to the fore on lead single “Ceased To Be”. The octave-straddling chorus vocal melody is genuinely spine chilling and Gillette contributes another magnificent solo. The song’s soothing outro is well judged, and sets the listener up well for the next track, second single “Broken”. This song shows a different side to this multi-faceted band. It uses atmospheric synths, ghostly vocals and programmed beats to create a dreamy, ethereal mood, and Klemp’s voice is wonderful here.
Oh boy, you’re in for a treat with the next song, “Casting Stone”. It’s nine minutes of unalloyed joy. Skipping to the 3.5 minute mark, the song delivers an instrumental section that’s insanely entertaining. It’s surely one of the top musical moments of 2026! Imagine the crazy and spectacular pyrotechnics of Dream Theater’s “The Test That Stumped Them All”, fused with the “Full Circle” section of “Octavarium”, and you might get close to the outrageousness on display here. Tejeida’s musicianship and sound design are incredibly good. Gillette proves he has soul as well as shred with a gorgeous, restrained (by this album’s standards) guitar solo. Klemp provides an anguished, heart-rending performance before Gillette stuns yet again with another searing guitar solo. As you may have guessed, this is my favourite song on the album.
How do you follow that? By providing the album’s heaviest song, of course! I love the soaring keyboard tones which bind together the crunchy guitar riffs, and the song boasts a terrific Sandnes drum groove. Gillette and Tejeida trade licks like a prog metal “Heart of the Sunrise” on adrenaline, and listen out for some dextrous bass playing by Pereira, pleasingly high in the mix.
For me “Parting The Waves Inside”, up against stern competition, is possibly the least impactful track on the album but it nevertheless has some strong vocals, a stirring middle eight section and frenetic fretboard/keyboard assaults in the finest tradition of technical prog metal. “Night of Veils” provides a welcome change of pace and is a showcase for the band’s ability to emote, containing as it does some beautiful piano and electronica, a poignant vocal performance and a resplendent guitar solo.
“Alone” is a major album highlight. It features the album’s most affecting lyric – “I don’t want to feel this way / I’d rather feel nothing at all” – and not one but two sensational guitar solos. It’s definitely a man of the match performance from Gillette, who is firmly establishing himself as one of the genre’s most sparkling and prodigious talents. An utterly superb song. (Multi-instrumentalist extraordinaire Gillette has a growing catalogue of impressive solo releases, too – check out his recent super “The Watcher” album.)
“As Long As We Last” could have suffered by following “Alone”, but holds its own as an archetypal album-closing pay off. The song has an epic chorus, the best keyboard solo on the album and an extraordinary outro that could almost be prog metal’s equivalent to the finale of the Beatles’ “A Day In The Life”. Marvelous stuff!
What an album! On a personal note, preparing this review coincided with an unusually chaotic time at Joyce Towers, and I found this album to be an extremely effective stress-buster. The combination of power and emotion is immersive, and completely effective at distracting you from your trials and tribulations.
Stop what you’re doing now and fire up this album on your music player of choice. If you do nothing else today, listen to “Casting Stone” and “Alone” – they will be the best sixteen minutes you’ll spend today. As a whole, Ceiba inspires, moves and delights, and showcases the very best that the modern progressive rock scene has to offer. You’ll be astonished by its off the charts brilliance.
Pre-order: https://orcd.co/temicceiba
Tracklist
1. Asunder (1:35)
2. Ashes (4:55)
3. Beyond the Voice (3:58)
4. Ceased To Be (6:26)
5. Broken (4:45)
6. Casting Stone (9:16)
7. See Myself (6:38)
8. Parting the Waves Inside (7:24)
9. Night of Veils (3:38)
10. Alone (7:02)
11. As Long As We Last (10:21)
Fredrik Bergersen Klemp – vocals
Eric Gillette – guitars, backing vocals
Diego Tejeida – keyboards, sound design
Simen Sandnes – drums
Miguel Pereira – bass 
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