Band:	Subterranean Masquerade
Album:	The Great Bazaar
Style:	Progressive metal, Psychedelic rock
Release date:	January 2015

01. Early Morning Mantra
02. Reliving The feeling
03. Tour Diary
04. Nigen
05. Waiting
06. Specter
07. Father And Son
08. Home [limited deluxe digibook edition bonus]
09. Beyond The Pale [limited deluxe digibook edition bonus]

I had an idiotic smile on my face as I was listening to The Great Bazaar for the first time. The reason was simple. It was a smile of relief that the fears of this album being a disappointment were unfounded. Following up on something as brilliant as is Suspended Animation Dreams, is no easy feat. To some extent, Subterranean Masquerade have succeeded even though it took them 10 years to accomplish that. However, there's a but. There's always a but in such cases...

The Great Bazaar is an intricate record. There's a lot going on in there that'll take time to notice. Contrary to what you might assume from a statement like that, it doesn't sound crowded. Strings and flutes are often accompanying guitars, piano running in the background as well as the ambient sounds, not to mention the various folk instruments giving the album an occasional oriental touch. The interplay of instruments is outstanding and the general vibe is kind of lighter than that of Suspended Animation Dreams.

Vocally the key difference is that Paul Kuhr is now handling only the growls and has conceded the cleans to none other than Kjetil Nordhus and as Kjetil operates in a slightly higher register than Paul used to, it's another of the contributing factors to the lighter feeling of the album. However, Kjetil is nothing short of brilliant, his voice being warm and fitting the music well. The side-effect is that, at moments, it all comes off a bit Green Carnation-like in lighter and more folkish colours.

The thing is, though, that while I lay praise on this album, there's something elusive that's not entirely right with this album. In general, Tomer Pink has done really well writing it up. "Tour Diary" and "Blanket of Longing" with Kjetil on vocals are absolutely fabulous and captivating. It's intricate and far from being monotonous or boring. So, it's not that. It does, however, stop a couple of steps shy of magical, a level that was achieved by Suspended Animation Dreams and Home EP, for that matter now that I've run them all one after the other.

The closest I've come to figuring out what prevents The Great Bazaar from taking those final steps across to the magical frontier, is the overall sound of the album. For lack of a better description, it is somewhat lacking in weight and authority; doesn't sound full enough. Nightingale's Retribution kind of had a bit of the same problem, now that I think back on it. I'm sure it's purely coincidental that both albums have been mixed and mastered by Dan Swanö himself. I say coincidental because I like how Home EP sounded, and that was also Swanö's doing.

Don't get me wrong, The Great Bazaar is likely one of the better prog records (to be) released this year. It's got what it takes. However, it stops a step shy from delivering on the promise. It's not as magical as it could have been.