Mountain Fever
Released - 14th May 2021
Subterranean Masquerade (SM) have returned with their first album since 2017. The band has announced a new line-up, a fully Israeli collective of the finest musicians in the Israel prog scene. And what a pool of talent they have acquired. Seven members complete the band on their fourth album. Subterranean Masquerade mix metal, rock and pop. Add in influences from Middle Eastern culture, mix it all together and you have ‘Mountain Fever’.
Starting proceedings with the uplifting 'Snake Charmer', which incorporates soft vocals and a hooky pop orientated approach, it's hard to find yourself not tapping along with your feet. Add in a luscious guitar solo and this song is a perfect album opener to welcome the listener to the wonderful world of SM.
Second track, 'Diaspora, My Love', starts with a slow piano introduction and slowly builds with subtle backing vocals to add an atmospheric feel to the track. The addition of violins that build into a harsh vocal passage is the start of the band showing off their collective talent.
But it's the title track that gets the blood pumping. Wonderful female backing vocals, add in a brass section and enter this huge hooky chorus to lift your mood to no end. After a lengthy guitar solo the track takes a different slant and brings in those Middle Eastern influences. Imagine one of those scenes in Indiana Jones, with people sitting in one of those markets smoking shishas and THAT background music, that’s what they incorporate here. It’s hard not to want to get up and belly dance.
It would be wrong to not mention the performance of Davidavi Dolev, the new vocalist. His range of melodic soaring vocals to growls and even spitting out fast paced almost punk like lines adds so much variance to the album. But, let’s not takes any detraction from the rest of the band, they all add in something wonderful in their own right.
This is one of those albums where you never know what is going to come next and the experience is one to savour. One minute you are enjoying the vibes of Orphaned Land and next you are showered with wonderful vibrant sing along choruses and heavy riffs.
The outcome is a wonderful, high-energy feel-good album that will please fans of the prog scene and beyond.
8/10
FFO- Green Carnation/ Orphaned Land
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