With all the attention being paid to Suspyre's latest release When Time Fades..., the band has also reissued their debut from 2005 called The Silvery Image. You'll notice one thing when listening to the three releases from the band (the sophomore one being A Great Divide), and that's the fact that most of the songs sound like they could have come from one long album. Basically, the band wrote most of their songs around the same time frame, and had plenty of them, so over the last few years have been releasing them on the three albums mentioned above, almost like they were setting up a trilogy, The Silvery Image being the opening statement, and what a good one it is. Basically, if you like complex, orchestral metal that's quite melodic and epic, you've come to the right place. Vocally stunning, instrumentally inspiring, Suspyre are heading towards greatness, each of their three CD's packed to the gills with all that most of us like about progressive rock and metal.
Many of the tracks here are lengthy and tell their own story, yet the album as a whole flows quite well. Tunes such as "Distant Skies" and "Waterburns" feature weaving guitar arrangements and layers of symphonic keyboards, the vocals of Clay Barton soaring over the dense mix. The band mixes in choirs, classical instrumentation, saxophone, and female vocals on a few tunes, giving a sweeping, sumptuous effect that is instantly pleasing to the senses, all the while never letting up on the metal & prog elements. Gregg Rossetti, along with Rick Skibinsky, launch into plenty of intricate lead & harmony lines, as well as provide the riff-o-rama, heard to great effect on the Symphony X inspired "Last of the Survivors", the crunchy "Serpent I Am", and the progressive metal juggernaut that is "The City Under Sands". I mentioned 'epic' earlier...well, that's exactly what "I See" comes across as during its 6-minute length, complete with huge vocal sections, bombastic keyboards, pounding drums, and killer guitar swells.
Though The Silvery Image was the beginning of the Suspyre saga, that train is still going, and there's no reason why this talented band won't continue to keep mesmerizing progressive metal fans worldwide and soon find themselves at the top of the genre. If you missed this one the first time around, now's your chance to dig in deep and enjoy it now.
Track Listing
1 Sospirare
2 Father of Hate
3 Distant Skies
4 Waterburns
5 The Breath of Gloria
6 Last of the Survivors
7 Ascension
8 Apex
9 Surpent I am
10 The City Under Sands
11 I See
12 Seguirai
13 Crimson Shade
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