Artist: Susperia
Label: Nuclear Blast
Release Date: 5/1/01
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Title: Predominance Artist: Susperia Label: Nuclear Blast Release Date: 5/1/01 |
Judgment Committee Reviews | Rating |
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4 | ||
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Go to Reader Reviews | ||
Abyss's Review:
Dimmu Borgir, Satyricon, and Old Man’s Child all donated members to this new band, and if you’re fans of those bands, you’ll probably really enjoy this new, accessible slab of metal. Susperia mix the simple, catchy riffs one could find on Dimmu or Cradle of Filth’s latest albums with an ever-evolving sense of mood to create one hell of an interesting album.
While Black Metal purists will lump this band in with the sell-out goth influenced scene, this band seems to be trying to do something different. At times this band sounds electronic, reminding me of the last album from The Kovenant, but there is a warmth here that most bands in that style lack. The riffs, while often simple and effective, give heart to the music by striving for being more than just catchy. They do this by inserting interesting fills and bridges that would seem more at home in thrash than in something that resembles commercial Black. The rhythm section changes from simple electronic-sounding, driving beats to a loose, thrashy mid-tempo scourge, to metered blastbeats, often in the course of the same song, resulting in an album that is all over the place and focused at the same time. And while this band has a definite Black Metal attitude their music seems rather far removed. It’s just kick-ass metal disguised as Black, and it gets more interesting the more you listen to it.
"It’s just kick-ass metal disguised as Black, and it gets more interesting the more you listen to it." This band just seems like they’re in a category by themselves; taking a formula that we’ve heard before and making it seem completely new. Every time you try to pigeonhole this band’s sound, you hear something else that blows your theory. I can’t wait to see how this sound evolves. They are in a precarious position, because this sound could easily drift into commercial pap, but as it stands right now, I’m hooked.
Death's Review:
Another in a series of albums with this same feel, albeit a fairly sick feel. The conviction and the raw, underproduced thrashy riffing of old-school thrash combined with a blackened vocal and spirit. Susperia add a subtle air of goth or electronic hinting to the mix, and the result is a sonically interesting, headbanging excursion worth checking out if you think you would like something that sounds like a combination between Exodus' Bonded By Blood, Cradle of Filth, Annihilator and The Kovenant. Listen to track 2, "Vainglory," for a quick sampler. This has eighties cheese-metal chords, combined with sick riffs (my favorite? The wobbly, hammer-on/pull-off midetmpo headbanger which comes early into "Journey Into Black") with a "Super Death Metal Distortion!" guitar pedal type sound and is performed by members and session-players from top-flight outfits like drummer Tjodalv who has played with Old Man's Child and Dimmu Borgir. The drumming is outstanding, with lots of double-bass and an passionate feel to the playing, even amidst the most-repetitive blast-beat parts. I suppose at times the arpeggiated guitars may even add some ever-so-slightest power metal touches - but I better halt that line of off kilter analysis right now before I give the wrong impression. Sometimes this sounds like a Pantera album, sometimes it is Dimmu. Seriously. Check it out if you are interested - despite my growing feeling that we are about to be inundated with new bands pushing this kind of a black/SF-thrash kind of a sound, I'm definitely digging it right now.
"Despite my growing feeling that we are about to be inundated with new bands pushing this kind of a black/SF-thrash kind of a sound, I'm definitely digging it right now."
Hel's Review:
Favorite tracks: "The Hellchild," "The Coming of a Darker Time"
Is it necessary to reiterate for the god-only-knows-however-many-th time that black metal is not on the top of my list of favorite sub genres? I think I just did, so let's move on to why that might be relevant. If a band, such as this, which is firmly rooted in black metal, makes me think, "hey, this is pretty good," then maybe it is good in that kind of universal, even those not fully familiar with black metal, way. Good in a beat-you-over-the-head-with-a-stick kind of way.
"Never forgetting to be black metal, Susperia mixes things up and the end product is more interesting than your average archetypal model of a black metal album." Never forgetting to be black metal, Susperia mixes things up and the end product is more interesting than your average archetypal model of "a black metal album." Another notable thing about Predominance is that, while keyboards are present, on the whole, they are used rather sparingly. I find my favorite aspect of the album is the juxtaposition between traditional black metal, and pure diversity and experimentation. Well balanced, these disparate elements are the key to why this album tickles my metal-bone. Predominance adds up to a worthwhile way to spend your metal listening time.
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