A Great Divide

Suspyre | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 28, 2007)
• Original Release Date: 2007
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Nightmare Records
• ASIN: B000NJM6G4
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #106,514 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Astounding Musical Achievement! I Was Captivating From The First Track..., April 4, 2007

By 

Just Bill (Grand Rapids, MI United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Great Divide (Audio CD)

Suspyre's first album, The Silvery Mist, although good, didn't adequately prepare me for the sonic onslaught that awaited me in their new release, A Great Divide.

How many times can I type "Wow" before someone slaps me?

Everything about A Great Divide smacks of excellence -- from the pristine production to the packaging (Nightmare Records devotes as much TLC to its packaging as their artists do to their music) to the instrumentation to the vocals to the lyrics. This is as close to a perfect album as anyone is likely to get, folks.

This isn't just prog metal. Not by a long shot. This is well-crafted music that spans, perhaps even defies, genres. Sure, A Great Divide features fat riffs, speedy time signatures, and screaming solos. But where some prog metal bands lose me is in their inability to craft actual *songs*.

Not Suspyre. A Great Divide sounds like a cross between the best jazz-rock fusion of the Seventies (the short instrumental break around 6:00 into of the 9-minute "The Singer" is fusion all the way) with the technical virtuosity of Dream Theater and the sheer chutzpa of King Crimson. Oh, and the lush orchestration. Can't forget that. If there's one thing that gets me every time it's combining acoustic instruments (especially piano and acoustic guitar) with the roar of electric ones. Such balance showcases talent, whereas a constant barrage of sound merely bores me, no matter how well-played it may be.

A Great Divide features truly insane noodling, but the enchanting melodies of such songs as "Galactic Backward Movements" are glorious in their own right. They give my mind a rest, and a vehicle in which to travel along with the musicians. It's a journey I enjoy taking. (In fact, the day I received it, I left it on repeat, listening to it all day long in my office while I wrote. I felt energized, creative, and completely transported.)

Once every so often an album is released that blows me away. This is one of those times. A Great Divide is heavy without being annoying, lush without being sappy, and compelling in all the right ways. I predict this is going to be one of those albums that is talked about in reverential tones a decade from now.

If you have friends who think that the only good prog metal comes from European countries (or if you're one of those music snobs yourself), I suggest popping A Great Divide into your CD player, sitting back, and experiencing it first hand. Oh, and try to keep your mouth from dropping open. I dare ya.

I can't recommend A Great Divide highly enough. I urge everyone who loves exceptionally well-made music to buy a copy. And tell your friends to buy one, too. Let's see if we can turn Suspyre into a household name. These guys deserve it. A Great Divide is a remarkable achievement.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Suspyre slays traditional prog metal, April 2, 2007

By 

Jason L. Greenberg (houston, texas) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: A Great Divide (Audio CD)

I first heard of this band when they were posting their demo songs on garageband. From that point on, I knew it was only a matter of time before they got a record deal and started producing high class prog metal. Their first album was more a combination of power metal mixed with progressive and classical elements. A Great Divide is a much different album yet is still recognizable as Suspyre. The songs are longer, more technical, more diverse, and more dramatic. Barton's lyrical content has become more abstract, matching the music's complexity and forcing the listener to think. One amazing thing I have noticed is this: Reading the lyrics without the music is very confusing, but in the context of the melodies and music composed by Rosetti and Skibinsky, it beautifully articulates the passionate emotions flowing through this cd.

The production is fantastic. Absolutely nothing to complain about. All instruments are clear and mixed properly. The guitar tone is heavy, comparable tone to Opeth's Ghost Reveries. The piano and orchestral accompanyment sounds authentic and you'd never know the difference if you didn't read the booklet and see that they didn't hire an orchestra!

This music is immensely creative and is full of pleasantly unexpected surprises. Jazz elements are fused with modern classical approaches which yields very intesting arrangements. This is the kind of album which other bands are going to be emulating and will soon be the father of a new genre in metal.

For anyone who is tired of the same formulaic "progressive" music and is aware that "formulaic progressive music" is an oxymoron, I urge you to give this band a listen and discover the true meaning of "progressive".

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing, April 2, 2007

By 

a7x1337 (CO) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Great Divide (Audio CD)

This was one of the five albums of 07 that I was REALLY looking forward to. My expectations for the album were perhaps unrealistically high. After all, I was expecting not just the greatness that was A Silvery Image, but I was expecting more. I actually sometimes wish my expectations were lower for albums, because it helps me enjoy them more.

However, The Great Divide (Suspyre's record label debut) did not disappoint me. It has gotten better each time I've listened to it, definitely, but the first listen was not a letdown as it so often is. When I got it in the mail yesterday, I listened to it in its duration straight through. It was like the old days where a kid would pick up a record and just listen to it - usually I multitask and play a game or something while listening to my music. But I wouldn't and couldn't for this. It was breathtaking (fitting, given the name of the band!) in its complexity and sheer beauty. During the second opus, I literally found myself saying 'This is beatiful!" For many metal bands, beautiful is not necessarily a compliment. But Suspyre is so much more than just a metal band. They are a progressive metal band with fusions of classical and jazz.

Each song has its own personality, and having only listened to the disc three times thus far, I have yet to truely understand each song fully. That is part of what makes a band like this so exciting - they bring such a fresh, creative approach to music that you can't just listen once or twice to understand or fully appreciate each song.

Some of my favorite things about the album include the bold 10 minute instrumental ("Galactic Backward Movements") the choral parts (which are IMMENSELY superior to those of the first album), and the acoustic bit on "Resolution." I also liked the subtle reference to "Father of Hate" on the previously mentioned song "Galactic Backward Movements." They really shred it out a lot more at certain points on this album than the previous one. Every moment is fresh and never is it boring.

So, by now you've probably gathered that I like Suspyre. But I am not just rump kissing - I truly believe that The Great Divide is a musical masterpiece. It really is a shame that the musical ignorance of the general individual leaves a band with such enormous talent and knowledge as they do to have to work side jobs as bankers and music instructors. I sincerely hope that Suspyre will eventually catch the break they deserve, and join the ranks of Symphony X and Dream Theater.