Sufferion - Hamartia of Prudence

I've wanted to review this album but unfortunately I had no chance to get my hands on it before the day of its release. The guys in Silentium hail from Finland and Sufferion is already their 3rd album. I don’t have their fist album Infinita Plango Vulnera, but I have their second album Altum which I like quite a lot, although it’s been some time since I last listened to it. The album starts off with a short intro they call “radioplay” that brings us to Flame Still Burns which is quite an excellent song. Those guys’ music is definitely enjoyable and remains in the veins of their previous album although it shows some real progression and they have improved quite a lot. The clean male and angelic female vocals are perfectly bound together and flow perfectly with the music and the raw male vocals and the choirs bring that little extra something. After that first song comes the main problem of this album. Song three is another “radioplay”. In fact, every song is introduced by one of those “radioplay”. I don’t know what’s the purpose behind those, but a quick listening to all those “radioplay” lead me to one decision to skip them all so that just the music remains, because those “radioplay” are definitely annoying and cut the fluidity of the album and couldn’t interest you less than a first spin. So now that I can finally focus on the music, let’s start the review all over… Flame Still Burns is quite an excellent song. Those guys’ music is definitely enjoyable and remains in the veins of their previous album, although they have improved quite a lot. Lost Is My Name, the next song, is even more enjoyable. Symphonic gothic metal with violins which give the music a more symphonic edge, while the keyboards give the music a more dynamic touch. The music has a I-don’t-know-what of baroque atmosphere while it never falls into grand eloquence or mediocrity. Shame Forever Mine has this unique touch andsounds a bit like Tristania’s or Sirenia’s best. Half way through, the music gets more and more dynamic and sounds more blackish than gothic. Unfortunately the female vocal duties come down to a peg especially on Wither In Silence and overall loses part of its beauty. Fortunately the album finishes with The Fall and Beyond which are two excellent songs. The album could have been an album of the month if only it didn’t have those “radioplay” in between each song. I think it damages the album more than it improves it and therefore my quote won’t be what I would like it to be because an album as to be considered a whole indisociable thing. A great album though and definitely worth checking out for all those who enjoy orchestral gothic metal.