Subterranean Masquerade
Home

March 2013
Released: 2013, Self Released
Rating: 4.0/5
Reviewer: Aaron Yurkiewicz

How have I not heard of Subterranean Masquerade before now? The vehicle of primary songwriter and guitarist Tomer Pink, Subterranean Masquerade is an Israeli-American outfit that features in its ranks members of November’s Doom and Orphaned Land, and rocks an exceptional brand of progressive, death-infused psychedelia, in a beautiful menagerie of melancholy. The band has been idle since 2005’s SUSPENDED ANIMATION DREAMS, but recently released a new, limited run 2-song 7”, HOME. It’s a brief, but tremendously captivating listen that traverses a broad musical terrain that begs for a proper follow up.



The title track is a poetically epic tale about a journeyman traveler on his maddening journey to find his way home, and is steeped in a thick Hammond organs, eastern strings, galloping riffs, guttural vocals, and spoken prose. It’s a bit advantageous to say the least, but it works surprisingly well and avoids sounding bloated or pretentious. For audiophiles, there’s a ton of stuff going on across the arrangements, but it all syncs amazingly well. The second track, “Beyond the Pale” is a Mission UK cover (check your Sisters of Mercy history, folks), but the band’s instrumentation and darker musical approach to the track makes it sound like a completely different tune.



The bad news is that HOME is limited to a 300 copy run of orange or black 7” vinyl, so it’s a great pair of tunes that will unfortunately have a limited audience. The good news is that HOME is supposed to be a precursor of a new full length release from Subterranean Masquerade, and hopefully sees the band entering the studio later this year. Either way, HOME is an intriguing preview of things to come from a talented lot of established musicians. Track down a copy of HOME through Subterranean Masquerade’s website.