Subterranean Masquerade

Subterranean Masquerade began in Finland in the late 1990s as a project led by Janne "Trollhorn" Sfiris. The band's name came from a Velvet Underground song, "Venus in Furs," which gives you a sense of where they were looking for inspiration. Sfiris wanted to work outside the usual metal frameworks, pulling in bits of avant-garde, folk, and classical music alongside the atmospheric black metal foundation.

Their sound didn't sit easily with everyone at first, and they got some pushback for moving between styles. But they kept at it, with Sfiris as the consistent figure through various lineup changes. They've put out several albums, including the 2009 concept record "Awake," which runs about an hour and deals with dreams and the mind. Other songs like "No Place Like Home" and "Suspended Animation Dreams" show their range within that exploratory approach.

They're still putting out music, with a handful of full-lengths and EPs to their name. The work tends to be dense and layered, more about building a particular mood or idea than sticking to a genre formula. It's the kind of project that attracts listeners who are okay with some wandering.