When Time Fades...

Album review

Many of the progressive metal bands that have emerged in the 21st century have come out of Europe, but Suspyre are among the American prog metal bands that emerged in the United States in the early 2000s -- New Jersey, to be exact. When Time Fades..., Suspyre's third album, is fairly technical but not ultra-technical; some prog metallers are a lot more angular and difficult than these Jersey residents, and some prog metallers are hookier and provide songs that are easier to absorb. So one could say that while Suspyre don't go out of their way to be accessible, they don't go out of their way to be inaccessible either. When Time Fades... rocks aggressively, but the material is consistently melodic (often incorporating elements of European classical music and occasionally incorporating elements of jazz) and places a great deal of emphasis on nuance and songcraft. There are plenty of death metal, black metal, metalcore, rap-metal, doom metal, math metal, industrial metal, and alternative metal bands that take pride in showing listeners how viciously heavy they can be; When Time Fades... is never like that. Instead of emphasizing heaviness or bombast, this 2008 release emphasizes musicality -- and like many other prog metal bands, Suspyre have a sound that links elements of power metal (as in Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Queensrÿche, and Manowar) with prog rock artists like Yes, Kansas, Pink Floyd, King Crimson, and Emerson, Lake & Palmer. When Time Fades... falls short of excellent, although it's a decent (if slightly uneven) example of what prog metal has to offer in the United States in the 21st century. And there is never any doubt that the members of Suspyre can play their instruments well.
© Alex Henderson /TiVo