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When I first heard this album it was as if I’d heard its songs hundreds of times before and yet I struggled to pinpoint the bands or identify the songs. In a way this neatly sums up “Traumatic Scenes” – the influences come from familiar sources but Suprema kneads them into something of their own.
Early Savatage, Crimson Glory, Jeff Scott Soto are some of the names that eventually crossed my mind when I spun this disc again and again. On a technical level, “Traumatic Scenes” is an excellent effort. Its riffs often verge on Thrash, guitar solos flirt with neoclassical melodies and the songs dabble in Prog Metal dynamics. Taken as a whole, however, the album seems to have a 1980s U.S. Metal sound. The production could perhaps have been a bit more polished but I think it succeeds in accentuating the album’s melody and roughness.
Some synth effects are used sparingly but tastefully, mainly in the intros. The singing technique of Pedro Nascimento might take some time to warm to but his voice is as emotional as it is powerful – qualities ideally suited to this type of music. Besides the singing of Nascimento, some guttural vocals are also used, courtesy of Victor Prospero. Prospero is in fact one of a series of guests whose names will be unfamiliar to Metal fans outside Brazil but whose collaboration help enrich the album’s music.
Thematically, “Traumatic Scenes” is inspired by the supernatural film thriller “The Invisible” (of 2007) with the songs focusing on various aspects of the human condition, such as fury, anger, love, hatred and fear. It’s a fascinating lyrical approach, even though the level of English used is patchy.
Going back to the music, focusing on a couple of specific songs might provide further help in depicting this album, so….
‘Burning My Soul’ has a powerful rhythm section and intelligently placed guitar solos. The clean vocals are slightly too high in the mix but, thanks to some great songwriting skills, they shift seamlessly from and to Death Metal grunts.
Hot on the tail of ‘Burning My Soul’ are the acoustic guitar arpeggios and melancholic singing of ‘Memories’ which then evolve into something lyrically and musically more upbeat.
All in all I felt “Traumatic Scenes” effortlessly engages the listener’s emotional involvement. It’s an excellent debut from a band that is bound to grow in stature. | ||||||||||||||||||
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