Art Ketchen / Celtic Beat  July 2001
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Tempest is a courageous band and they don't even know it. In an age of 
politically correct wimps of one stripe or another they will be faulted for 
one thing(Rock instrumentals), or another (being macho), or another(possibly 
pagan). But true to real artists they don't give a damn and keep on playing 
their music as they see fit. 
Balance is a supreme example of this. Balance opens up with "Captain 
Ward," a straight ahead swashbuckler of a song-rocking aggressively.Tempest 
is no band to hear if you are in a mood to hear historical collections(and 
that's fine if you want to hear them). With a repertoire that owes an obvious 
debt to Steeleye Span and the Child Ballads (and carries that legacy to a 
kind of musical mannerism), this is a place to hear the familiar in an 
unfamiliar way, not always, but if you listen…… 

Case in point: "Two Sisters." The rendition of this standard set a 
new standard, with great percussion by Adolfo Lazo, and mandolins by Leif 
Sorbye. And a great harmonica, also by Leif Sorbye-a brand new thing for this 
song. With an unusual instrumental end. Tempest mines the time honored 
material, coming up with something different and great. 
Some of the best cuts here, like"Old Man Flint"(with the second part 
"Trip toYuba City" particularly good) are Twenty First Century Tempest 
adding to musical tradition. They should never be forgotten for what they do 
in this particular realm of Celtic music. 
–A.K.