{"id":895,"date":"2025-06-14T01:52:38","date_gmt":"2025-06-14T00:52:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/frownedupon.net\/?p=895"},"modified":"2025-07-12T23:57:36","modified_gmt":"2025-07-12T22:57:36","slug":"review-time-masquerade-masquerade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/frownedupon.net\/index.php\/2025\/06\/14\/review-time-masquerade-masquerade\/","title":{"rendered":"Review Time – Masquerade! Masquerade!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Straight from the bowels of Hell<\/mark><\/strong>\u2026or at least somewhere equally dramatic\u2026comes The Masquerade<\/em>, a symphonic theatre-metal outfit led by none other than The Maestro<\/em>, self-declared ruler of the underworld. He\u2019s backed by his band of cursed Mannequins, former mortals who committed unspeakable atrocities and have since been dragged back up from the inferno to shred for eternity. Standard stuff, really.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their debut single, \u201cEnter the Masquerade<\/em>,\u201d is the opening salvo from Escape From Hell<\/em>, the band\u2019s first full-length, which dropped on 15th November. If you like your metal draped in velvet, soaked in blood, and whispered to you by a demon in full stage makeup, you\u2019ll want to have a listen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ghost Meets Grand Guignol (But Nasty)<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"Masquerade\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Masquerade sound like what would happen if Ghost<\/em> took a nasty turn after a bad acid trip and started cosplaying Avatar<\/em> in a crumbling opera house. But there\u2019s no wink here, no smug irony. Where other theatrical acts might play up the camp, The Masquerade<\/em> double down on the darkness. It\u2019s all smoke, mirrors, blast beats and genuinely unsettling grandeur.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEnter the Masquerade<\/em>\u201d tells the tale of a poor soul freshly arrived in Hell, met at the gates by The Maestro himself. The track plays like a twisted welcome party, part ritual, part mockery, where the crowd\u2019s not sure if they\u2019re supposed to dance or run. There\u2019s a pulse to it: relentless drums, a riff that stalks rather than sprints, and a vocal delivery that leans more into performance art than clean singing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to The Maestro (via the flames of press release purgatory), the song was crafted as a full-throttle opener, something to get the pit moving, the horns raised, and the sinners swaying. Mission accomplished.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Darkness Done Right<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\n