SUBMASQ, formerly known as Subterranean Masquerade, return with their seventh album and first release on Willowtip Records. «Spirit Animal» comes out on September 18 and is essentially an autobiographical journey: trauma, addiction, bipolar disorder and collective memory, all passed through a constant search for identity and belonging.
Country: Israel
Genre: Progressive Metal
For fans of: Green Carnation, Orphaned Land, Devin Townsend
Nine tracks, about 42 minutes, with the ethnic instruments tangled up with the progressive rock: «Cardamom», «Monuments», «Mechanical Prayers», «Calypso», «Anger», «Sanctified», «Uman Inshallah», «The Unlucky» and «Trust».
The band consists of Davidavi «Vidi» Dolev on vocals, Tomer Pink and Or Shalev on guitars, Golan Farhi on bass, Yalon Shori on drums and Shai Yallin on keys, electronics and handpan, with Dima Kogan on live appearances. Among the guests, Ron «Bumblefoot» Thal stands out, playing the guitar solo on «Cardamom», while tablas, oud, bouzouki, violin, cello and percussion are also heard. The mixing is signed by Adam Noble, known for work with Leprous and Katatonia.
Our take
SUBMASQ have a way of filling every second: almost everywhere there’s something extra, an instrument, a percussion, a detail you discover on the second or third listen. «Anger» is the strongest point, with a chorus that rises for real and a performance by Vidi at the edge of theatre, while «Cardamom» opens the album in a way that wins you over immediately. «Monuments» continues with a nervous, unstable build, and «Trust» closes with a darker mood, strings and constant tempo changes.
The problem isn’t the execution, but the ideas underneath. The album is more direct and brighter than their previous ones, and that makes it easier to listen to, at a cost though: quite a few of the core riffs and melodies are simpler than the band has accustomed us to, and some moments — the disco passage in «Mechanical Prayers», the very clean chorus of «Calypso» — seem placed to draw the listener in rather than come naturally out of the composition.
It remains, though, an album that listens comfortably and again. The balance between the ethnic instruments and the progressive metal holds, the production is clean and full, and the more conventional moments don’t spoil the overall picture. It isn’t their boldest album, but it is a worthwhile addition to a discography that rarely disappoints.
Find them
- Bandcamp: submasq.bandcamp.com/album/spirit-animal
- Site: submasq.net
- Label: Willowtip Records
See also: Epitaphe – III | Februus – Construction of Conflict
