DETACHMENT - SUSPENDED IN STONE

DETACHMENT is a very promising Progressive Death Metal band that spews forth an interesting amalgamation of the keyboard laden technical virtuosity of NOCTURNUS (circa The Key) and older PSYPHERIA, the brutality and catchiness of CARCASS (circa Heartwork), and, occasionally, the Death-Jazz-Fusion touches of CYNIC or ATHEIST. The excellent riffing and killer drumming drive the music home and share the spotlight equally. Keyboards play an integral part in every song, but they never overpower the guitars. The vocals can be placed in the grunting and screaming category, but they are often intelligible and fit the music quite well. Clean vocals are used very sparingly, but they are a nice touch when present such as on "Empty Attack". I don't recall any memorable bass guitar runs.

"Open Your Heart" starts the disc off with a relatively basic oscillating riff and driving beat, but it features more interesting segments scattered throughout the tune. Certainly not one of the best songs on Suspended in Stone, but it is decent. "Septic Reality" features more prominent keyboards a la early NOCTURNUS as well as better drumming, and it incorporates quite a few different tempos. "Unintelligible" is my favorite track on the disc with its extremely catchy and intricate song structure. Guitars, drums, and keyboards all meld together in patterns that repeat but appear briefly only to be replaced with the next killer section. Like "Open Your Heart", "Divine Delegation" is not as complex as some of the other tunes, but it contains several interesting interludes and is more keyboard driven. CARCASS's "Incarnate Solvent Abuse" is covered quite well. It is not as interesting as DETACHMENT's original material, but it fits in well enough.

"Bloodmirror" contains a CYNIC/ATHEIST jazzy midsection that is well done. Certain sections of the early and later music in this tune contain some of my favorite guitar and drum interplay on the disc. These segments remind me of the mighty THEORY IN PRACTICE. However, the rest of the riffing in this song is not as good, and the shouting of "Backed into a Mirror" gets annoying at the end of the track. "Empty Attack" starts out well with some cool keyboards and intricate riffing, but its mellow midsection and horror show keyboard sound do not do much for me. The brief spurts of clean vocals work though. "Severed from the Flesh" is the most basic track on Suspended in Stone. The song is done well in the Floridian Death Metal style, but it does not thrill me much when compared to the rest of the disc. "Spawn" closes the disc, and, unfortunately, it is the weakest track on Suspended in Stone. It is slower in tempo, and is neither catchy nor complex.

Suspended in Stone is a very good disc. In my opinion, however, it could have been a great release if the band did not rely on relatively simple riffs and pseudo-blast beat drumming as the backbone for many of their songs. Obviously, DETACHMENT is comprised of very talented musicians. Their musical skills are clearly evident throughout songs such as "Unintelligible". However, they really only let themselves go crazy within segments of most of the tracks. I hope they consider becoming more consistently technical when writing new material.. Regardless of whether or not they heed my advice, I eagerly await hearing what they will come up with next. Check them out at www.detachmentkicksass.com. They are currently unsigned, so please support the band by buying their disc. If you like Progressive Death Metal, you won't be disappointed
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