Out of Victoria’s regional town of Mildura, Suspended Animation are blasting onto the scene with a three-track EP simply titled, “Three Track EP”. Within it contains three tracks that do not disappoint. Between raw, harsh yet melodic vocals, the heavy and groovy chugs of guitars, and the primal yet defined beatings of the drums, they deliver a good promise that Suspended Animation are not here to mess around.
“Three Track EP” starts strong with Careful What You Say. Heavy guitars, an easy-to-headbang rhythm, and a lot of atmosphere. They are clearly here to prove their worth. There is a great blend of semi-clean vocals and all out fry screams, and an easy to chant “Careful What You Say” line in the chorus. However, I will say that the song drags on a little too much, as the song could easily be done after the third chorus, yet it drags on for an extra minute without adding too much more to the song. The drums however, are the absolute crux of this song, they are masterfully crafted to manage the pace of the song without making it feel too repetitive.
No One is the next track on the list, and it’s rather incredible in the rhythm department, perfectly syncopated chugs beautifully marrying the guitars and drums together. There is an interesting hip hop type of vibe to the verses too, which adds a necessary amount of space from the rest of the song. It’s definitely focused and comes across as the strongest of the “Three Song EP”, giving the most space for tension and release. I can absolutely see this getting mosh pits going crazy when the choruses hit.
War is the last song showcased, and although it has a strong start with a primal floor tom style groove and guitar to go along with it, it doesn’t quite deliver as much as I had hoped. Vocals here feel a little stale and thin, and could be instantly enhanced by some more layering to make it feel more like a chorus of voices. This would make it feel more like the battlecry type of song it’s trying to be. The instrumentation does make up for this, with a slow but aggressive marching kind of sound. It will make an audience want to bang their heads, and march into battle to fight the war, yet makes the listener falter when the vocals come in.
Suspended Animation have done a great job with “Three Track EP”, showcasing a large breadth of ideas that is impossible to fall upon deaf ears, but there is one big drawback which brings it down a Roo or so – mixing and production. There were a couple of guitar synchronisation issues where it wasn’t quite lined up the way it sounds like it should have been, and is especially prevalent when both guitars are chugging intricate rhythms together. And the mixing didn’t really help its case. Everything seemed to be boosted in the bass-to-mid range, which muddied up a lot of the guitars, and resulted in not being able to hear the bass nearly at all. A lot of the chord movements felt like pure distortion, almost a cacophony of low end overpowering each song. I’d love to hear each of these songs remixed and re-recorded, as they have so much in them that is deserving of a more full and refined sound to them.
Verdict
Suspended Animation’s “Three Track EP” is a strong debut, filled to the brim of promise for the future of the Victorian metal scene. Jorrin, Bobby, Nick, Hayden and James should all be proud, but it’s clear that there’s still room for improvement, mostly in the mixing and production department. I absolutely recommend checking them out, and following them for what is to come, as I’m sure that with more support and a little bit of refinement, they will be dominating stages across not only Australia, but the whole world. I give “Three Track EP” a solid three Roo’s, and would expect that to improve greatly as they give us more of a discography to work with.
Suspended Animation: Facebook
Release Year: 2026
Label: self-released
Category: EP
Country: Australia
Reviewed by Tylor H
