SUBTERRANEAN MASQUERADE is an interesting band blending old school progressive elements with modern metal elements to make a rather intriguing sound! I hadn't heard of them before, but this band has actually been going ages, and you can tell with the expertise on display on their new album, "The Great Bazaar"!

Opening up with "Early Morning Mantra", we are presented with a very proggy outing from the get-go. The band pack a lot into just 6 minutes of rocking out, with a clash of modern metal growling meeting AYREON style vocals with a slick presentation, this was a really good introduction to the album. "Reliving The Feeling" carries on from here, with an almost MARILLION style verse meeting very PINK FLOYD vibes and backing vocals. The song continues to build on its main riff and really just builds nicely throughout. I am not a massive fan of the growling vocals, as they feel slightly out of place, but perhaps that is the point, and is more of a personal taste issue for me.

"Tour Diary" has a really nice vibe to it from the very first section. This is one of the highlights, with some really well performed music, great vocals, and powerful use of dynamics.

The album is really quite strong, with clever use of harmony, atmosphere and instrumentation on display. "Nigen" really shows just how diverse this band can be, and "Blanket Of Longing" is a really tight well-constructed song. "Specter" is another example of great progressive songwriting, with some really nice moments throughout, again presented really well.

The album closes up with "Father And Son" which makes use of a guest appearance in Orphaned Land singer Khobi Fahri. The track makes really good use of his voice and throughout its 9 minutes it traverses a multitude of different moments, from its neo-classical feeling intro onwards to really heavy moments later on that are met by almost ambient sections later on.

The production is really good here; spot on in fact, when it comes to this sort of sound. It's very nice and punchy sounding throughout, and everything is recorded and mixed really well. No complaints here!

Overall this is a really good album, full of very impressive musicianship throughout that is tempered by solid songwriting skills. Definitely one for the prog fans who want something new!<