Cat Temper - A Furwell to Kings

Review by Karl Magi

Overall Album Impressions

Cat Temper’s A Furwell to Kings explores a fascinating plethora of synth colours, timbres, and textures that mingle with electric guitar to create an intriguing, intensely ear-pleasing journey through sound and emotion. The melodies crafted by Cat Temper are complemented by his innovative and skillful interweaving of textures and feelings, forming a listening experience that transports me to new realms of thought and expression.

At the heart of A Furwell to Kings lies Cat Temper’s talent for generating highly individual and compelling synth tapestries. Each thread is woven from a distinct tonal quality, emotional shading shaped by instrumental choices and engaging textures that sweep and swirl around me. I especially enjoy those moments when unexpected sounds converge to create sonic magic that is impossible to escape.

Melody is another striking element of A Furwell to Kings. Cat Temper has written melodic passages that seize hold of me and carry me through shifting landscapes and atmospheres. One moment I am soaring into the depths of space; the next I am floating in quiet contemplation or borne upon a raging tide of ferocious power. Every mood is vividly and powerfully evoked by melodies that ride the instrumental current.

Atmosphere is a powerful draw as well. Cat Temper invites me into auditory visions of varied worlds and experiences, each track unfolding with a complexity that deepens the listening journey. As someone who enjoys prog rock, I find this music enormously satisfying. And once again, the album titles brim with cat puns that never fail to make me smile.

My Favourite Tracks Analyzed

“Purrmanent Waves” comes to life as arpeggios twirl smoothly with a minor-key tinge while bass swells and warm energy rises from their movement. The richness of the bass adds stability as broad drums splash and radiant arpeggios ripple outward. Ethereal sensations permeate the crystalline patterns while the large drums lend reverberant strength.

The percussion drops away and a twinkling sound tumbles forward as starry sparkles flicker in the distance. I am seized by the music’s peaceful quality as glistening notes shimmer with delicate remoteness. The drums return, joined by a slicing synth that cuts with ferocious strength, contrasting against exultant notes flaring above it. Majestic power fills the lead synth as breath-like pulses inhale and exhale deeply. The low end lacerates while triumphant tones pour out brilliance before silence finally falls.

A fiercely driving synth joins with growling guitar that slices with potent drama to begin “The Analog Kitten.” Hollow, xylophone-like notes trickle with mysterious energy while the drums build power and accelerate alongside a gigantic bass foundation. A leaping tonal pattern charges through the music with galvanic speed, climbing upward as the guitar cries out in a storm of feeling, supported by rapidly rippling notes below.

Brassy tones trumpet with irrepressible dynamism, capturing sensations of adventure. Arpeggios spin with mounting drama while the guitar roars with crushing force, the low end chugging with surging intensity beneath it. The guitar cries out, full of electric emotion, as the battering underpinnings drive forward. The arpeggio continues to churn with fierce sensation while the drums smack hard and the track gains speed, the guitar tearing through with angry dominance as distant minor-key chords add depth and tension. The piece closes on breathy, trickling notes that gently fade away.

“Hold Your Fur” begins with a raw blast of guitar energy. The raging storm slashes in broken pulses before solidifying into a charging wall of dominating strength. A minor-key synth descends in spectral tones above the ferocious underpinnings as the percussion pounds slowly into place. The bass evens into a steady flow while darkly jagged guitar lines descend and trumpeting tones burst with irrepressible muscle.

The underlayer is immensely forceful as a piano drifts in with bright notes that convey a sense of threatened mystery I find intriguing. The chugging foundation pushes forward while the piano mingles with a slicing, sharp-edged guitar that contrasts against the brilliance of the keys. Arpeggios dance in interlocking, twirling motion as the piano cries out with melodramatic intensity and the low end strikes with undeniable strength.

The piano rises into a classically inspired melodic pattern that radiates mounting tension while colliding drums press onward. An ethereal choir in the distance offers soothing contrast to the rage of the low end and the spectral insistence of the mid-range tones. A pipe organ deepens the growing drama and darkness, while a calliope-like voice creates a gentler counterpoint before silence finally falls.

Truly massive drums rebound with active motion to open “Counterpaws.” The drums thunder and rage with forceful strength before a shattered, towering synth cuts into the music with dominant defiance. A minor-key, twisting synth cries out in a darkly threatening melodic pattern while seismic drums hammer relentlessly.

 Panpipes call with spectral yet graceful motion as the enormous rhythm batters the track. A shining synth carries a dramatically active melody while the guitar snarls with deadly force, conveying a lurking danger I find compelling. Beneath it all, the drums smash with violent intensity as the minor-key melody rings out, brimming with barely suppressed anger. The panpipes hover with uneasy emotion while the guitar tears into the music.

The main melody trembles with a sense of waiting, deadly mystery as trickling notes slip past. The guitar bends into a solo that conveys mounting terror before the track gradually weaves its way to an end.

“Temples of the Sphynx” begins with sepulchral bass and slowly pulsating drums. Medium-high, broadly iridescent strings carry a melody that swells smoothly while distant orchestral tones dance at the edges. A rapidly spinning arpeggio generates cosmic motion as a fluting synth drifts with mystery and contemplative melancholy, floating above the active underpinnings.

The bass growls while hollow, flute-like notes hover over entangled, frolicking lower textures. I’m drawn to the enigmatic melodic pattern as higher tones inject serenity and floating calm. Interlocking lines circle one another with buoyant energy while tranquil pipe timbres linger overhead.

A guitar adds richness as it rises with sharp edges, computerized tones cutting cleanly above it. Layer upon layer builds depth and majesty as the guitar’s keen contours move inward. Open-voiced percussion rebounds while echoes are sliced by dramatic orchestral strings. A worshipful tonal figure unfolds, expanding and twisting before silence falls.

A raging storm of guitar smashes into the music with shadowed force to begin “Power Whiskers.” Brightly flaring notes vibrate into open space above the churning guitar weight below. Airy panpipes carry a melody full of ghostly, dramatic energy as the surging underpinnings drive forward. The main melody holds a minor-key mystery that I find deeply intriguing.

A piano line enters with triumphant positivity before a luminous lead synth unveils another melodic figure, rich with honor and nobility. As the jagged low end impacts, nasal-sounding tones irradiate the track. The main melody is then taken up by climbing orchestral notes, rising with powerful dynamism while haunting textures drift behind.

The guitar rips in with jagged teeth, shredding and crying as drums cascade in torrents. Enigmatic notes glimmer in the distance while the relentlessly attacking rhythm tears through. A piano returns with surprising gentleness, offering soothing warmth before being sharply contrasted by rending guitar and battering drums. Crystalline panpipes drift in and out before silence descends.

“The Nekomancer” begins as looming tones establish a sense of approaching, eldritch enchantment. Drums pulse between brooding bass and descending synth notes that fall with threatening intensity. Brilliant chords drench the music in radiant light, sharply contrasting with the seething darkness bubbling below. Storming guitar shreds into the track with terrifying, undeniable force as everything heaves with massive intensity.

The guitar flies through the piece with churning ferocity and intricate interplay. I picture a cat wreathed in ancient, fearsome power, resurrecting fallen feline companions to vanquish its enemies. The guitar snarls with muscular authority while sacred choral tones rise in hallowed strength, pulling me deeper into a realm of magic and mystery. Thunderous guitar surges forward as the low end slams with assertive might.

A theremin-like synth now wriggles through the music, pouring out otherworldly emotion and guiding me further into the strange domain of the Nekomancer. Oscillating bass towers while the theremin entwines with guitar in enigmatic flow. Twisted synth lines churn and rise with unsettling tension as chunky underpinnings drive onward. The guitar chatters as machine-gun drums splatter across the track with unstoppable dynamism.

The piece transforms into a heavy metal rager, drums smashing with fearsome strength as the entire composition rockets ahead at lightning speed. In a final theatrical flourish, classical piano tangles with theremin before silence falls.

Conclusion

A Furwell to Kings pulls me wholly into the worlds it creates through soundscape and musical imagination. The range of feeling and structural complexity is impossible to ignore. As ever, Cat Temper delivers a work well worth the wait, pushing his craft to another level and keeping me deeply engaged in his process of conjuring music that carries me to new and wondrous realms.