Genre : Funk metal, Progressive metal, Math metal
Released : March 1st, 2023
Label : Self-release
FFO : Primus, System Of A Down, Gojira, Twelve Foot Ninja, Psykup
Man, I remember seeing these guys play a show in my small remote corner of the French alps about a decade ago, when I was finishing up high-school or in my first year of university.
Having a band like this play in our small town didn't happen very often so it felt pretty special having guys at this level of musicianship playing in the tiny venue we rehearsed and played a bunch of gigs in with my high school band (I don't remember if we actually opened for them that night or not, guess Alzheimers is already settling in...).
The next, and only, other time I saw them play, well... They were opening for a little underground band you might've heard of called Gojira in one of the biggest venues of the city I was studying in.
Sadly, after ten years in between their debut album "Sapiens Demens" and this new record "Tempus Fugit", Toumaï have decided to call it quits.
So this isn't really a review of their new (and final) album, but rather me taking the chance to reminisce and pay hommage to this now defunct band of zany, eco-conscious funk metallers.
"Tempus Fugit" offers a pretty diverse listening experience; containing signature elements of progressive metal song writing while taking every chance to flip the stylistical direction of song structures on their heads every chance it gets by playing around with different genres, moods and types of vocal and instrumental deliveries by maintaining a playful aggression throughout.
One second you could be trying to follow a pattern of mathy panic chords and the next you'd be bouncing to an eccentric, carnivalesque funky groove that could warp into a Gojira style breakdown at any given time while the vocals constantly change in register and tone.
If you love progressive heavy music that is full of quirks and oddities while still carrying a serious message at its core, then I can only encourage you to check out the work Toumaï put out during their career.