Search - Subterranean Masquerade :: Suspended Animation Dreams

An excellent progressive experimental release

Quasiphoton | Toronto, ON Canada | 07/20/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"At the end of the first track, a spoken voice says, "For the rest of the session, you'll be asking yourself: Am I going crazy?" Good preparation for a highly eccentric yet brilliant album. This is music that is progressive in structure, instrumentation, and vision. Tomer Pink melds (slightly) distorted guitars and death growls (performed well by Novembers Doom's Paul Kuhr) with clean acoustic sections, saxophones, strings, and even some world music.



Don't pick this up if you're just looking to headbang to something, or if you have little patience. The music is not heavy but is quite beautiful, and succeeds well in creating a slight melancholic mood. The rather lengthy compositions will reward repeat listens as more of the music becomes apparent.



I only have one minor complaint about the album, which prevents it from a 5 star rating; sometimes, the transitions seem a bit arbitrary, a change for the sake of change. However, on the whole these moments do not detract from the overall experience. If you're a fan of Novembers Doom or Opeth, while not exactly similar, you should definitely give this a chance. Some of the softer acoustic passages, such as the passage that starts at 3:20 in "No Place Like Home", would not sound out of place in an Opeth compisition. Highly recommended.



If you want to try before you buy, follow this link to hear "No Place Like Home" (The End Records label website).



http://media.theendrecords.com/SubterraneanMasquerade_SuspendedAnimationDreams_NoPlaceLikeHome.mp3"