Metal Shock Finland (World Assault )

Israel’s progressive metal outfit SUBTERRANEAN MASQUERADE has issued a dynamic new single from their impending fourth LP, Mountain Fever, which is due for worldwide release through Sensory Records in May. The new single, “Mångata,” features guest Idan Amsalem from Orphaned Land on bouzouki and guitar, and a video for the track has made its public debut through an exclusive premiere hosted by Prog Magazine.

Boasting ten new songs which encompass nearly fifty-five minutes, Mountain Fever sees SUBTERRANEAN MASQUERADE continuing to push the balance between pioneering experimentalism to their own take on modern pop culture and its manifestation in the Middle East. Revealing an album composed of African and Balkan brass sections, Arabic violins, extended vocal techniques, and several special guest appearances, the band explores radio friendly hooks that emerge out of heavy riffs and polychromatic arrangements.

Mountain Fever was recorded in Golan Heights, Israel with engineer David Castillo, after which it was sent to Fascination Street in Örebro, Sweden (Leprous, Katatonia, Opeth) where it was mixed by Jens Bogren and mastered by Tony Lindgren, then completed with artwork and layout by Costin Chioreanu of Twilight 13 Media. The record features several notable guest contributions, including drums from Matan Shmuely (Orphaned Land), bouzouki and lead guitars on “Mångata” by Idan Amsalem (Orphaned Land), and vocals on “Somewhere I Sadly Belong” by Melechesh Ashmedi (Melechesh) and Jackie Hole (The Super Things).

SUBTERRANEAN MASQUERADE lead vocalist Davidavi Dolev writes, “’Mångata’ is the closing track on our new album, Mountain Fever. It is a song about love, companionship, and language barriers; it is an open end, a vast ocean of longing. Three years ago, I came back to Israel after quite a few years living on/off Scandinavia. I had sunk into its serenity; I fell in love with its melancholy and its rhythm, I lived a different life than the one I’ve had in the Middle East. ‘Mångata’ in Swedish is the road-like reflection of the moon on the ocean. I loved the idea that no matter what, every night looking at the Mediterranean Sea, I can just step on the water, and go back up north.” 

Watch SUBTERRANEAN MASQUERADE’s “Mångata” video through Prog Magazine RIGHT HERE.

Lasers Edge division Sensory Records will release Mountain Fever worldwide on May 14th across all digital platforms, on CD, and multiple double-LP vinyl variants cut at 45RPM.

Find preorders for the CD, the Black vinyl, and the Yellow vinyl HERE, the standard digital HERE, the Hi​-​Rez 24 Bit digital HERE, and an array of new mech items at the band’s webshop HERE.

Watch for additional official videos and more on Mountain Fever to be issued surrounding the release of the album and through the rest of the year.

SUBTERRANEAN MASQUERADE, which until recently was considered a cult studio project for fine taste followers, has transformed over the last several years into an exciting, colorful live act, mixing the traditions of heavy metal together with the aesthetics of world music performance, spiritual punk, and pure rock. Praised by music journalists all over Europe and beyond, the band has taken over the stages, showcasing a distinctly audacious execution of their complex songwriting while maintaining an almost magical grip on their audience, reviewed as rave parties for metalheads.

Led by guitarist Tomer Pink, SUBTERRANEAN MASQUERADE was previously fronted by Green Carnation vocalist Kjetle Nordhus and Novembers Doom’s Paul Khur. Having officially revamped the lineup in 2018, the band now features a very tight knit, fully group of musicians handpicked from the upper echelons of Israel’s prog scene. Mountain Fever is the band’s first album to be created by this expansive seven-member lineup.