Susperia strike gold
nightlordv | Addison, IL United States | 03/02/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Susperia is a project brought together by ex-Dimmu Borgir drummer Tjodalv. Let me tell you, this album will beat the crap out of you and want you screaming for more.
Susperia's first album, Predominance was ok, nothing too impressive or new, and in my opinion, bland and uninspiring. Vindication however, is the complete opposite.
From the opening track Cage of Remembrance, the band will make your ears bleed and your skull crack with a pummeling assault of razor sharp guitars, thunderous drum blasts and bass lines, and lead vocalist Athera's surprisingly wide range vocal skills.
To me, it seems, Susperia decided to go with something different on Vindication then they did on their debut. Its almost as if they wanted to throw in a blend of different metal styles and forge it into one solid sound. In my opinion, they succeeded magnificently. You have black metal in the vein of Dimmu Borgir, thrash metal in the vein of Pantera and Slayer, and even some melodic metal like older In Flames.
The song structures are laid out well, starting off either hard and heavy, then slowing down to a dirgy crawl, or starting out with some haunting clean guitar licks then kicking into high gear with a massive wall of grand distorted guitar bliss.
Athera's vocals are impressive, he changes so much in one song he's far from boring, sounding one minute like Phil Ansolmo from Pantera, then going to a Tom Araya like scream the next.
Cyrus and Elvorn simply rip out the guitar riffs on this album. I mean it when I say that these are some of the heaviest, meatiest, and most head bangable guitar riffs I have ever hear since perhaps Slayer or Children of Bodom. Tjodalv pounds away on the drum kit, blast beating one minute, then stepping down to a nice, even, though still hard hitting tempo the next.
Vindication is based heavily on rhythm riffs, and although there are not too many solos, the music changes pace enough times to keep each song fresh and stops them from becoming stale and redundent. All the guitars are packed with enough distortion to make any other metal band jealous, and the way Susperia blends the heavy rhythm riffs together would make even the legendary Slayer proud.
Every song on here to me is memorable. I can pretty much gurantee anyone who listens to this album only once, that you will have some riff from one of these songs stuck in your head. Such songs as "Anguished Scream", "The Bitter Man", and my personal favorite "The Bounty Hunter" are good examples of this.
Do yourself a favor, if your tired of the boring done over and over again death metal such as Deicide and Morbid Angel, or if you are looking for a new band to check out because others like In Flames or Soilwork have become a dissapointment, pick up Susperia's Vindication. I guarentee you will not be let down.
Memorable Tracks: The Bitter Man, Anguished Scream, Bounty Hunter, Warmaster"
Solid, heavy...but not a masterpiece.
Dance Of Macabre | Pittsburgh, Pa, USA | 09/03/2005
(3 out of 5 stars)
"Given the elements of their origin, the sound of Susperia is an initial surprise. After all, when members of Old Man's Child, Satyricon, and Dimmu Borgir get together to jam, you expect a very distinct style. You expect something reminiscent of their genre.
But with Susperia, an entirely different path is taken. "Vindication" is a heavy, punishing slab of post-thrash groove, contrasted by the occasional foray into venomous assaults of speed and savagery. And when you think you have a good bead on where Susperia is coming from, they pull the rug out from under your feet with slow, gothic-metal grinds and blistering black-metal brutality.
Perhaps the most potent blow from "Vindication" is dealt with the riffs. Simply put, they are enormous and crush everything in their wake. It is hard to resist tapping your foot to some of these tracks. Performance-wise, this album is the wet-dream of any drummer. The percussion is almost ridiculously good. The drummer, known simply as Tjodalv, rips out blast-beats and savage double-bass, but is extremely tasteful and never overplays. This album is worth the purchase for his performance alone.
But, this album is far from a masterpiece. Vocalist Athera is one of the main reasons this album never fully takes off, despite its several attempts. His range is limited, and at his best, he sounds like a Philip Anselmo impersonator with a bad case of the flu. He is certainly not a terrible vocalist by any means. But his vocals are adequate at best, which does hold some of the songs down.
Secondly, there are few songs here that I would call "memorable" or note-worthy. After listening to "Vindication" thoroughly, you are certainly impressed with the sound and sterling production quality, but you probably won't have any of these songs stuck in your head.
Definitely worth buying if you are a metal fan, especially of Scandinavian bands. Susperia is a melting pot of styles and techniques, and a good one at that. But don't expect "The Jester Race" or "Slaughter Of The Soul" from this one."
Death/black metal at it's point
Gloria Rebolledo Perez | puebla, puebla Mexico | 12/25/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This album it's an advance for the band trayectory, with only tow album they managed to get their own style and to become one of the most original bands of the last years. Their sound is catchy, their vocals dark and heavy and their songs disturbing. All that a real metal fan neads to be happy about an album. I did buy this album, because the last album was a great one, but when i listen to this one i ran to my best friend house and put it in his cd player to make him listen to it. He right away went to the cd shop to buy him a copy of it, and this story continues the same with my other friends. So we will keep it like this the album is great, it's a: you must have.Este disco es uno de los mejores discos de death/black metal que he oido y miren que he oido muchisimos, es un disco que contiene todo lo que un fan del metal debe conciderar esencial:
Rifts pesados y tecnicos impresionantes, una voz profunda y obscura, temas que hacen pensar. Este album causo revuelo entre mis amigos y casi todos lo tienen ahora y esto de comprarlo el día que se los enseñe. Así que este disco Uds. lo quieren en su colección."
Track Listings (10) - Disc #1