With the coming of the new year, there is also an influx of new releases, as new albums generally tend to stop coming out in the last few weeks of the end of the year. We’ve already had a bunch of great new albums out on the 20th, but January 27th, 2023, also marks a few more albums of note, including the release of “The Infinite” by Belgian SUASION through Atomic Fire Records, so we gave the album a few spins to see what these guys are all about!
The metalcore genre is pretty oversaturated these days, with a lot of these acts sounding good, but also a lot too much like each other, or too much like BRING ME THE HORIZON. What stands out immediately in SUASION‘s album is how fresh their sound gets at times. Though adding electronic elements into metalcore is certainly nothing new, they’ve shaken things up, put a little heavier focus on them at times, and blended other elements from pop and rock into the music as well, while leaving a few other trends behind completely.
“The Infinite” seems like it should be a rather long album, as it has twelve tracks, but runs through its playtime before you even know it, as no song is much longer than 4½ minutes. “Astro” acts as an atmospheric introduction of what is to come, utilizing guitars and interesting electronic sounds, yet fortunately doesn’t require the second track to sound complete. “Murphy’s Law” is a good starting banger to get the energy up, showing off thick drums, tasteful use of electronic elements, and powerful melodic vocals.
There’s really something to their use of electronica, as many bands will use it as an excuse to skimp on the bass and drums, but these guys don’t seem to fall victim to that particular complaint. Their sound is very well-balanced, with great guitar solos in “Infinite,” interesting bass lines in “Explore” that often go into djenty territory, and “Transformation” is showing off nice drum work already in the song’s intro.
The album seems to push all of its heavier music in more in the first half, calming down a bit with poppier and more melodic material towards the second half, with tracks like “Explore” exploring a lot of territory (yes, pun completely intended) and “Trapped” going into full street-racing EDM-style, while “Black or White” fully explores the pop-spectrum while still being quite metal overall, and “Celestial” is more of a sweet and… borderline-but-not-quite-sappy ballad. “House of Cards” does pick the energy up again and “Equilibrium” is a really unusual, melodic banger with some unusual but effective twists and turns in both tempo and sound, acting as the most recent single and the final track before the outro.
Some of the stand-out tracks include “Momentum,” which features Belgian vocalist Steffi Pacson in a really excellent and powerful, anthemic duet; album closer “Naught” was also a surprise with its melancholy sound. That said, it does make a nice full-circle feel when compared to the intro, as neither song follows the expected pattern but both work spectacularly.
The first impression of SUASION‘s music was that it’s what BLIND CHANNEL would sound like if they were a lot more mature. They’ve got the same interest in blending genres, but with a really cohesive sound that works well for them. While the pop elements do get a little strong towards the end, there is blissfully little rapping (which is pretty overused to make points these days), and they really painted a nice overall soundscape with their thick and complete sound. We’ll be very interested to see what else they release in the future… and I might have to get my hands on a physical copy of the album to read their lyrics!
Tracklist
- Astro
- Murphy’s Law
- Infinite
- Explore
- Transformation
- Black or White
- Trapped
- Momentum
- Celestial
- House of Cards
- Equilibrium
- Naught
Lineup
Steven Rassart – vocals
Nicolas Pirlet – guitar
Julien Dejasse – bass
Virgile Degen – drums
Label
Atomic Fire Records
