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SUSPYRE - A GREAT DIVINE
NIGHTMARE RECORDS
METAL TO INFINITY
Another remarkable highlight from Nightmare records! Yes, this band has the needed chemistry to unfurl great compositions; superimposing talent is on board and the skilled guys from the U.S. deliver their second full length album for all those fans of melodic, progressive metal music while adding a tinge of fusion, jazz and classical music.
Suspyre is a very young band that started originally at school. The main members Gregg Rossetti and Rich Skibinsky, both on guitars, travelled a long way to find the adequate and necessary musicians to complete Suspyre to what it is today. Their quest resulted in a line up that is able to bring on the most passionate and convincing musical ideas, all equipped with a blend of various styles. The tracks have one thing in common: metal. Not necessary pounding drums, screaming guitars and rolling bass, but with a bit of both worlds. Suspyre likes to mingle all musical directions and present them with a heavy undertone. So far, the guys from Suspyre surprised us all the way with their second effort ''A Great Divine''.
From the opener and intro ''Forever The Voices'', until the closing track ''Blood And Passion'', the band takes you on a musical trip which is divided in two parts. The first halve of the album is called ''Opus II: The Alignment of Galaxies'' (total playing time is 34:16) contains four tracks that vary from heavy riffs to flowing orchestral parts and dissonant, energetic orchestral parts and a tasteful use of pastiche. Some tracks have a snippet, an intro that recurs a little later but played on different instruments. Opus II unfolds in a magical trip that needs to be explored!
The second part of the album is called ''Opus III : The Origin Of A Curse'' (total playing time is 36:05) which contains 4 tracks that combine 6 musical directions. It might sound odd, but this album is comparable with a good book that is divided in chapters and sections. For example the organ melody in the track ''April In The Fall'', will return in another track ''Alterations Of The Ivory''. The sounding riff in ''Mega Man'' is also used in ''Blood And Passion'' and so on. Each track has a little secret to reveal, and that leads to an album that needs a lot of spins to get into the magic and themes of Suspyre.
Since their first output, this band used to play a lot of live gigs, and I'm really anxious to experience such a live show myself. If you take a look at the line up and instruments that are used, I knit ones brows when I notice Midi Sequencing, alto Saxophone, tenor Saxophone, PVC Pipe etc... Suspyre also had a guest appearance of Ceara Johnson who's taking care of the female vocals on ''The Spirit''.
The total playing time of ''A Great Divide'' is about 70 minutes and that's a guarantee for ultimate pleasure! The front cover artwork is also eye catching and the man who is responsible for this tasteful tableau is artist Rainer Kalwitz. Fans of progressive art, but also fans of Symphony X, Dream Theater and stuff like that know what to buy! This is art from the heart! My rating: 95 /100
Patrick de Sloover on behalf of Metal To Infinity Webzine