SUBTERRANEAN MASQUERADE: "Suspended Animation Dreams"   

subterranean masquerade                       The End Records

likely to be released : April/June 2005

preview - review by Haavard Holm____   

Surely Subterranean Masquerade was on to something with their debut EP "Temporary Psychot State" last year, but it became a little short, so two tracks then was not enough for me to put them on the menu for delicious new discoveries then. But here it really starts to close-in for these four odd guys, which first and foremost are run by Israeli-born Tomer Pink which is the man behind the bands music.

And the band certainly own no shame in life, cause here they attack most musical genres in one great leap. I had a personal problem to handle the very jazz-like opening with a saxophone and easy listening on the first track, but it recovers strongly after, and after quite a few spins in the player even the opening make a certain sense.

The basis of the band is the progressive sphere they've gone out in, with a combined jazz, metal, doom/death and pretty much also straight rock kind of thing. And that takes a while to consume it all. But in all its insanity it still works, the constellation is pretty weird, but the crystal clear production eventually takes out some really strong songs here, in particular where the band approach their more epic parts, like "Six Strings to Cover Fear" and the strange 15 minute long "Awake". Also to be mentioned here is the track "Kind Of A Blur" which makes me sit back with a feeling of even some folk-like inspiration to the band, at times similar to very ethnic cultures in it all.

The vocals on the album are very varied, and Paul Kuhr of Novembers Doom as main vocalist do his part in a splendid way, where he takes his maybe not more than okey clean vocals as far as it goes, but with the growling this man is fantastic! He sings very well in Novembers Doom, but here I feel that it suits even better! Epic and beautiful, actually it is rare vocalists in the extreme genre sings as good as this.
In addition there is a good variety of choir-variations and just a bit of female vocals too, without it being a main element on the album.

rating:   7/10

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