乐队列表 Technical Thrash Susperia The Lyricist

Susperia has been around since the year two thousand and they’ve put out six albums during the span of eighteen years. Their two thousand seven release, Cut from Stone, sounded something like Sacred Reich meets classic Machine Head. There were some brutal attacks mixed with some laid back thrash songs. Then their two thousand nine album, Attitude, took a more technical approach with the stringed musicians working harder. The thrash melodies were more intense, creating dynamic atmospheres. Later in two thousand nine, vocalist Athera had a serious heart attack and underwent open heart surgery. It’s been nine years since the band has followed up that previous effort. So his health issues may have been why he was eventually replaced with another vocalist in twenty fifteen. This new release is entitled The Lyricist. So does this word have a more ominous meaning than a songwriter? No it doesn’t and the album artwork depicts a strange devil/human figure speaking from a book. This is their first album through Agonia Records, which deals mostly with European black metal bands.

The new vocalist is thirty nine year old Bernt “Dagon” Fjellstad from Guardians Of Time. He is a baritone who often sings with a sober Attitude and an operatic quality of skill. At other times he uses throaty grim vocals, with an element of rage, like a lunatic. Dagon is a very talented vocalist and he performs to impress. He seems to bring more with his game than Athera did. The second song, The Heretic, starts with an epic melody as the guitarists slice and dice at a slower tempo. Then suddenly the rhythm guitarist grinds as the lead guitarist shreds with more ferocity. The vocalist screeches out his lines, in the spirit of Norwegian black metal. “War!” “Sweet cold hard war.” “I’m waging on you from my core.” The bass music is almost inconspicuous, but it does impart power with the lower notes, as the drum beats fiercely rumble. About halfway in the guitarists grind and thrash out some darker melodies. The vocalist switches to an operatic clear voice, with a lot of troubled emotion. “Words for the weaker, not for the seeker.” “For the poor man, words for the coward.”

The title track, The Lyricist, starts with elegant shredding riffs. Then the rhythm guitarist thrashes at an invigorating pace and the drummer beats out with typewriter speeds. The vocalist growls out his lyrics with a brutal consistency. “Paper is blank, pen running dry.” “Inspired by nought, no answer why.” The music becomes more intense, with a texture similar to Borknagar. About halfway in, there is a guitar solo and the vocals shift to operatic clear singing. “Uphold deception, believe The Lyricist.” “Uphold the pretense, that I’m a lyricist.” Two guitarists are featured, so there is a lot of guitar activity. The rhythm guitarist often grinds out fast melodies and heavier thrashing during slower moments. The lead guitarist adds quick high note outbursts and artistic hooks. There is vicious shredding with incredible skill and they still deliver brutal thrash assaults at a technical level. Some of the textures blur the line of Norwegian black metal.

The bass music adds extra depth to the dual guitar line up and usually plays a support role. There are heavier bass lines during the guitar solos and he plays faster during the accelerated tempos. Memnock has his moments to stand out with shifty rhythms and getting in some power chords on a few songs. The fifth number, Day I Died, leads with a majestic heavy metal styled melody. While the rhythm guitarist and bassist cut in with some thrash chops. Suddenly there is an awesome grinding guitar lead, with a dark and ugly texture. The vocalist grimly growls out his lines. “Bound by oath, by the word, there is no escape.” “Bound by mind, not by heart, she has sealed my fate.” The drummer beats heard with multiple tone alternations. Then the lead guitarist comes back with an epic melody and clear vocals join in. “One last chance, no way out.” “Path at ending all.”

The final song, Come Alive, starts with a catchy thrash melody and some shoe gaze effects. Then it drives forth with some energetic shredding. The vocals are yelled out angrily, with an air of darkness. “Go see the light of hate.” “Come alive rage of your life, face what’s inside.” The pace soon picks up with tricky guitar licks, that are played with intricate technicality. The bass lines add a lot of punch as the drummer shuffles along with stutter beats. The vocalist frantically screams out his lines. “Nothing set in afterlife, nothing’s set when you die.” “Nothing’s set so defy, what a time to be alive.” The percussionist rattles the drums around and mixes up the beat tones with a lot of razzle dazzle. It helps to stir up excitement during the faster parts. He hangs in there with the slower interludes, playing casual shuffling patterns.

The former vocalist, Athera had a husky voice , with a charismatic personality. Outside of Predominance, the rest of their albums had undertones of American sludge. Which was somewhat comparable to Sacred Reich and sometimes Machine Head. But on The Lyricist they have returned to their original Norwegian textures. This new vocalist is probably an upgrade and a change of direction, for a band that may have run out of tricks and new ideas. The album title and title track may reveal that the band has struggled with writing new material. The succession of songs are arranged, so that they become more intense with each upcoming track. Sometimes there are softer moments, which are followed up with artistic thrash assaults. They show lots of black metal influences and it’s their darkest album since Predominance. The Lyricist is a notch better than Cut from Stone and probably just as good as Attitude.