NOTE: This review was written a long time ago. I just now found it hiding in my stuff and am deciding to post it in an attempt to bring Sonic Ruin up to date.
Full disclosure: I have to say, I am completely biased when it comes to this little slab o' silver.
A little background. Suspiria was a Chicago Death Metal band from the early 90s. They specialized in crazy technically skilled tunes that were both ridiculously catchy and mind-bogglingly intense. They played out only a handful of times, but they were insanely good live. Yes, I was at every show, I ran the lights for them. I was also at every single practice pretty much and saw every single one of these songs grow from a riff here or there to the brilliant pieces that they would become. I even suggested a part of "Yesterday Beyond." Plus, as the liner notes point out, I drew the first demo's original cover and suggested the band name change.
Suspiria were all my best friends. The band are like family to me in many ways. They stood up in my wedding. I worked for many years with the drummer, Larry, in our 9 to 5 lives. I built my house next door to him and I met my wife through him. The guitarist, Todd, was always like a brother to me. The countless nights we sat around until the wee hours of the morning, just talking. Todd and I still get together. Dale, the vocalist, was always one of the funniest people I have ever met. We hung out all the time. I met the rest of the band through Dale. Heck, I was even an early candidate for helping Dale start a band. Problem being I was lousy at Metal. I also worked with Raf, the bassist, for numerous years.
While it might be true that I am biased to a degree, there is no denying the phenomenal talent and skill behind all of the songs on this release. These guys opened my ears to Death Metal. Without listening to them play I am not so sure I would have ever wandered towards extreme Metal. But, thanks to them, I grew an ear for the style and was able to pick out the good from the bad. Suspiria was one of the best.
This release is made up of the two demos released by the band, Psychological Inertia (1992) and Divinely Impaled (1991). Included are also live versions of all 7 songs, recorded at 2 different shows. All of the songs have been met with a remastering and a clean-up for this release. The live tracks are a little rough. They exist here more for novelty than anything else. The final two live versions of "Permanent Destiny" and "Conflictions" are the best sounding. Those two songs also prove that for as good as the Suspiria demos are, they were for real, as one can easily hear that they sounded just as good live, if not better than recorded.
The beautiful thing about Suspiria is how many changes one gets with the songs. Yet they always flow back to the main idea. The songs move from segment to segment and always have a purpose. Every riff makes sense in context.
Todd Scow's guitar playing is acrobatic and fluid. We used to refer to his fingers as noodles. Watching him play was always part of the fun, and it is almost a shame that the live tracks are not accompanied by video, as seeing Todd play these songs was always part of the fun.
One also has to remove their hat to Ron Muc for a solid rhythm job on guitar. Keeping pace with Scow was never an easy job, but Ron did a solid job.
The drumming by Larry Demumbrum is also a high point. While an amazing drummer, part of what made Larry so brilliant on drums is the fact that he was also a guitarist, and he played both guitar and drums in a similar way. Larry always treated the drums very much as a lead instrument. One listened to a song just as much for the drumming as they did for the guitar playing, and while many drummers accentuate the rhythm, Larry always accentuated the lead guitar. Much in the way Keith Moon would accentuate the vocals, Larry did it to the guitar leads. Yes, I compared Larry to Keith Moon. He will kill me for that.
I always liked Dale's voice. He might not have been as brutal as some Death Metal growlers, he did have his charms. His phrasing in many songs helped add an extra needed hook. His phrasing during "Permanent Destiny" for the line "Attack on those" has always been a favorite vocal line for me, and that includes in bands that are not friends of mine. In my opinion the vocal production on the early demos of Divinely Impaled ("Permanent Destiny," "Conflictions," and "Life Deletion") serve his voice best. The added effects help add a little more color to the vocals. The production for Psychological Inertia is a little dry on the vocals and I always felt a little effect could have added some depth.
The packaging is fantastic, with a wonderful interview with both Todd and Dale. It was, for me, a weird read. I knew all of the answers as I read it and I also remember almost every single aspect as if it was yesterday. It was during this interview that I realized how much Suspiria felt like a band I was a part of. I almost have as much pride in this release as I would my own band. But Todd's ridiculous memory and knack for keeping track of his own history make for a fascinating read. I wish more bands had his recollection and respect for their own history, as it makes for a great read.
Sprinkled through the pages are also quotes from other bands about Suspiria. Most of these help to create a legend of a band that should have been huge. We also get live shots from the band, promotional pictures, demo cover reproductions, and lyrics. There is really a lot crammed into these pages.
If you are a fan of Death Metal, technical Metal, Progressive Rock, or just really good Metal with amazing musicianship, you owe it to yourself to add this to your collection.
