Band:	Subterranean Masquerade
Album:	Mountain Fever
Style:	Progressive metal, Psychedelic rock
Release date:	May 14, 2021
A review by:	tominator

01. Snake Charmer
02. Diaspora, My Love
03. Mountain Fever
04. Inwards
05. Somewhere I Sadly Belong
06. The Stillnox Oratory
07. Ascend
08. Ya Shema Evyonecha
09. For The Leader, With Strings Music
10. Mångata

Engaging piece of work.

Having reviewed last year's The Pros & Cons Of Social Isolation, it seemed kind of fitting to do one for Subterranean Masquerade's latest work. That score should already be an indication of how much I enjoyed this record.

Now those of you who have read my review of The Pros & Cons Of Social Isolation might remember me saying that the album felt like it was a bit all over the place in terms of styles. It had variety throughout, but as a result some of the tracks clicked with me and others completely didn't. Mountain Fever seems to have a bit more of a clear direction to it (it probably helped that they could properly record together instead of being locked up during quarantine). Does that mean that the variety and uniqueness suffered from that more clear direction? No, not really. It doesn't go completely bonkers like that surfer version of "As You Are" on the previous record; however, the tracks on Mountain Fever all have their distinct feel and character while at the same time retaining a great amount of cohesiveness.

Production-wise this is excellent. Last year's record was pretty well done (given the circumstances they had to make it in). This, though, is a clear step or two up from that: really crisp and well balanced, with snappy guitars, clean and direct-sounding drums, and bass that bolsters the overall sound very nicely.

The performances themselves are top-notch as well. Flavourful riffs get the support from fitting drum parts and the additional keyboard touches give it a nice and full sound. On top of that, this record of course also offers that Middle Eastern flavour we've come to expect from these guys. And that's one of the things that makes Subterranean Masquerade stand out between many other psychedelic and progressive bands. That being said, there's another aspect to their records that feels unique and that's the vocals. They have a certain flair and charisma to them that adds quite a bit of extra enjoyability to Mountain Fever. Harsher vocals are also used on this record, and on the whole they are used pretty effectively.

Mountain Fever flows nicely from one track to another, and the pace is mostly on point. There are a couple of tracks that didn't quite hit the mark with me though. "Somewhere I Sadly Belong" is probably the one song I like the least, mostly because it drags on a bit too long for its own good, and there are some other points where this album adds maybe a bit too much filler. However, it's never so much that it really degrades the experience, which is why I said that the pace is mostly on point.

All in all, this record delivers a very fun experience to the listener. There's a good amount of variety on offer and it shows that this band has confidence in what it brings. Unique and fun from start to finish: that's the short description I can give to Mountain Fever.