If their 2006 recording,
Cut from Stone, didn't convince listeners that
Susperia are not black metal oriented, their 2009 release,
Attitude, offers additional proof.
Cut from Stone had nothing to do with black metal, and
Attitude certainly doesn't either. But it isn't hard to understand why some black metal enthusiasts will hope to find black metal on
Attitude.
Susperia, after all, includes former
Dimmu Borgir drummer Kenneth Åkesson, (aka Tjodalv), and former
Satyricon guitarist Terje Andersen, (aka Cyrus) -- and when a band includes ex-members of
Dimmu Borgir and
Satyricon, it's only natural that some black metal diehards will insist that their albums should be black metal manifestos. But then, the fact that a musician has a history of playing black metal doesn't mean that he/she is obligated to play black metal exclusively. Åkesson and Andresen obviously wanted to try something different -- something that is a departure from their previous bands but is still metal related -- and
Susperia has given them that opportunity. Picking up where
Cut from Stone left off,
Attitude offers an aggressive yet melodic blend of thrash metal and alternative metal. The stylistic comparisons that were accurate on
Cut from Stone (including
Sepultura,
Exodus,
Testament, and
Anthrax) are also relevant on
Attitude, which gets in the listener's face (the disc, as its title indicates, has plenty of attitude) but isn't without nuance.
Dimmu Borgir vocalist
Shagrath makes a guest appearance on "Sick Bastard," and even then, this 31-minute CD maintains its thrash/alt metal focus.
Attitude, like
Cut from Stone, falls short of remarkable but is a decent, worthwhile effort -- and both Åkesson and Andresen sound like they are having fun operating outside of black metal. ~ Alex Henderson