Subterranean Masquerade "Temporary Psychotic State" CD
[The End]
I've never heard of this band before, but I was curious about this lengthy two-track EP before I even learned that the band lineup herein includes members of Novembers Doom, Agalloch, and Epoch of Unlight. Don't really expect anything along those lines, though. This is progressive rock with some avante-garde and metal tendencies, including the use of violin and mellotron, acoustic and electric guitars, spoken, sung, and slightly aggressive vocals, etc. At first the music was great but some of the vocals were really rubbing me the wrong way, but by the time the epic and beautiful "Observation Through Metamorphosis" came around I was won over. I definitely think the vocals feel a little bit held back and could use more emphasis and force on the singing to add more emotion to the material, but I highly enjoy the music. Portions of "Observation..." are reminiscent of early Opeth accompanied by violin and female vocals. Paul Kuhr's growled vocals are perfect here as well, far more powerful than in the opening track. The metal elements are mainly vocal references, as musically most of the EP is quite calm and relaxed in some ways, aside from tremolo picking and intense double bass towards the end of "Temporary Psychotic State (A Recollection of Where it All Began". And that suits me fine, as here I really prefer the acoustic guitars and lush progressive elements of the music quite a bit more than the aggressive or metallic influences. The recording is nice and clear, and I have few complaints. I'd like to hear the bass hold down the core of the mix a bit more, and the drums certainly need more resonance and depth, but thankfully the mix keeps everything in check for the most part. The stringed instruments are all recorded and mixed almost perfectly (sans that certain lack of bass). The layout was handled by Travis Smith and looks quite nice, ever so slightly different from most of his work that I've seen. The title of this EP is quite suggestive of what the lyrics deal with, but I actually quite enjoy certain aspects of the lyrics a lot: "Staring, at the edge of time, Circulating without remorse, No regret for knowing too much, And staring at the eyes of my world..." Very nice. A more fully developed full-length from this band could be absolutely astounding with this particular lineup. I'll certainly be watching this closely... (7/10)
Running time - 17:20, Tracks: 2
[Notable tracks: Observation Through Metamorphosis]
The End Records - http://www.theendrecords.com

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