Slightly more melodic but still distrinctly Susperia
Susperia finally made an impact on the metal world with their first effort for their new label, Tabu Recordings – 2004’s Unlimited. Although stylistically there were not a lot of changes between that and the releases on their former label, Nuclear Blast, everything about Unlimited lead to it being praised by the press and the band’s fans alike. The time has come for the quintet, who are vocalist Athera, guitarists Cyrus and Elvorn, bassist Memnock and drummer Tjodalv, to deliver the goods and follow up the success of Unlimited, and with their new album, Cut From Stone, they certainly haven’t regressed. That’s for sure.
A menacing rumble fires of the savage opening cut, More, which is a healthy balance of blackened thrash that, for all intents and purposes, continues on nicely where Unlimited left off. Lackluster Day rolls in with all the subtlety of a steamroller before dropping an unexpected change as the verse kicks in which settles the track for it’s duration, whilst the duo of The Clone and Distant Memory are at the pointy end of the pack with respect to the best tracks on offer thanks to Athera’s strong vocals, and some simple, yet powerful chord progressions and guitar work. In contrast, it’s the combination of groove, driving riffs and rumbling bass in Release that are mixed in around the cleanly sung melodic chorus that allow the song to also shine.
Life Deprived is a furious thrash fest that blasts from beginning to end with another strong chorus slotted between passages of brutal riffery. But for a different slant on brutality, Between The Lines showcases a furious attack of Fear Factory-esque syncopation that shows for all of the melody that Susperia have delivered on Cut From Stone, that they can still deliver a brutal blast of metal. Both Bound To Come and Under sit comfortably within the framework that Susperia have clearly established at this point offering nothing new at this point. The straight forward up beat stomping pace of Brother delivers another suitable melody throughout the chorus, before the title track, Cut From Stone, which is another stomper of a track, relies on Althera’s vocals carrying the simple yet melodic chorus, which he does well, even with his limited vocal range.
Cut From Stone is clearly the next step from Unlimited. But it’s a step that may not sit well with some fans as it is clearly slower and more melodic overall. There’s still a reasonable balance of aggression to be found within – just not to the same degree as was seen previously. The cleaner production certainly works wonders here, and the songs are solid. It just comes down the what balance of melody versus aggression you prefer really, and for this reviewer, this one pretty well rounded.
(Tabu Recordings/Tuba Records/Modern Invasion Music Distribution)
