Temperance "Arcani" CD

TEMPERANCE Deal A Winning Hand With Tarot-Themed Arcani

Italian symphonic power metallers TEMPERANCE reshuffle the pack with their seventh album, Arcani, coming October 16, 2026 via Napalm Records. Structured around the divinatory practice of Tarot, each of the new songs follows a different card of the Major Arcana deck. Pouring their passion into 13 spellbinding songs with even catchier symphonic melodies than before, TEMPERANCE’s bright future takes shape on Arcani.

Their first trump comes in the shape of “The Fool”. Just like the card has uniqueness in Tarot through being unnumbered or assigned 0, Arcani’s opening song takes a special role through the lack of a subtitle. Paving the way for the album, TEMPERANCE have their trademark grand sound take shape in uplifting melodies and powerful duet vocals. For “The Magician: Into the Fire”, male vocals take the lead, the blazing anthem further unfolding the potential of the magical record. The emotive mid  tempo track “Death: Right Before We Die”, introduced by gentle keyboard melodies and fleshed out by impressively high notes, draws from a personal experience the band members shared. “The Tower: Lean Into Fear” takes the form of a hard rock song—an entirely new facet in TEMPERANCE’s musical universe. Its Tarot paragon being a symbol of chaos and catastrophe as well as liberation, it is the perfect song for Kristin Starkey to show her roaring versatility. “The Devil: Sin, Sin, Sin” picks up on its predecessor’s dark undertone, using it for a dramatic composition with an incomparably rousing chorus in which the Italian masters of modern melodic metal truly shine. Following, the quintet unveils a quasi-self-titled track with “Temperance: Forgiveness”. TEMPERANCE turn the virtue card into a well-balanced, encouraging song, claiming, “Another day is coming”, before presenting theirs with the triumphant “The Chariot: Alla Ricerca dell’America” (Engl. “in search of America”), which adds both Italian lyrics, and a Swedish line honoring Starkey’s chosen home, as well as more operatic singing to Arcani. The collectively catchy “Justice: Balance” portrays a similarly victorious sentiment, before the hopeful “The Star: Surrender Control” has TEMPERANCE move back to contrasting their vocalists. Introduced by electronic melodies, “Wheel of Fortune: Come and Call Me” comes in fast and forceful—fierce change once again matching the symbolism behind the eponymous card. Much calmer, “The Moon: The Man of Moonlight” harmonizes hidden danger through enticing instrumentation and strong vocals, before the intense “The Hanged Man: Petrichor" turns from acoustic guitars to heavy extraordinaire, from metal to opera, pulling together the numerous different styles the five-piece is capable of executing without the “pitture infamante”’s sacrifice. “The World”, much like “The Fool”, stands out in its title, but also as a song itself: The closing track is an acoustic guitar track with predominantly female vocals, mirroring the Major Arcana’s final card in its feeling of success. With it, TEMPERANCE wrap up Arcani with a special feeling of overarching finality while still looking ahead.

Though not a direct concept album, TEMPERANCE position themselves as masters of narrative with their Tarot-themed album, Arcani. Their symphonic grandeur rising to new heights on their memorable seventh album, the Italian five-piece knows how to make their trademark alternating vocalists stand out. With the most personal lyrics of their career, the lines recorded in group sessions binding the band together even more, TEMPERANCE present a strong melodic piece of work, filled with power, passion, and perspective.