Suffocation is American Brutal Death Metal band that was formed in 1988 in Centereach, Long Island, New York, United States. Suffocation are widely recognized major innovators of death metal. They had a massive influence on the genre and pioneered the balance between brutal and techincal sounds commonly heard in modern death metal. Frank Mullen is considered as one of the most emblematic death metal vocalists, as well as one of the first to use a very deep "death growl" vocal style and his hand chop, off course. Suffocation are truly the masters of brutal death metal, as stated in the review of the self-titled album, they have a very well defined formula of song craft and generally follow it. Well, with this album, they decided to change it up a bit subtracting some of the technicality of some riffs like those on Pierced From Within and the self-titled, favoring doomier structures, more stupendous solo work, and their brilliant brand of NY death metal breakdown jams.
Chopped in Half said 'Blood Oath' starts with those awesome sludgy riffs and killer double bass which Suffocation is known for, and Frank Mullen comes in, and man he can still growl like no other, becoming much more decipherable as other reviewers have stated, this song has really catchy moments, especially around the chorus.
'Dismal Dream' comes next and is currently a favorite of mine on the album, opening with some catchy leads that are for sure Suffocation, as they have a very distinct sound in their riffing, this song remains pretty fast paced throughout, and the chorus is very well done, listen to those awesome blast beats, Mike Smith reigns supreme. 'Pray for Forgiveness' follows, and this is currently another favorite of mine, and it just keeps the flow of the album going, and man, when you listen to that break, holy shit is that fucking heavy or what, just an awesome set of riffing and drumming, and a solo that just rules, that is another thing I should mention about this album, the leads and solos are incredible, which I feel they have kind of lacked since 'Pierced From Within' although I liked their self titled album, this one is better.
Bayern gave another review about it. He said In other words, Suffocation were doing the trick for me after the comeback, and I only too gladly laid my hands on the album reviewed here when it came out. If the guys have voted to continue in the same not as covertly dynamic direction so be it… And the punishing pounding riffs at the start of the title-track promise exactly that, steam-rolling intricacy carved by spasmodic outbursts of blasting violence and superb melodic walkabouts, a perennially surprising shred-fest that didn’t exactly sound like a leftover from the preceding saga. But this is just the beginning as later on one will come across more surreal, expansive soundscapes (“Dismal Dream”) that nicely stretch just outside the familiar Suffocation signature; heightened guitar acrobatics (“Pray For Forgiveness”) that may have prompted Necrophagist to indefinitely postpone the release of their proverbial third instalment; short frantic rifforamas (“Images of Purgatory”) that keep all that made the mentioned movement so arresting firmly in place; and some of the finest “melody vs. technicality” juxtapositions of the new millennium in the form of shape-shifting hectic labyrinths like “Cataclysmic Purification” and “Mental Hemorrhage”.
So bottom line, I think this is easily their best since 'Pierced From Within', and it's easily the best sound they've ever had, this album really impressed me, and while I did like their comeback in 2004 'Souls to Deny' and their self titled album in 2006 'Suffocation, I really liked that one actually, but I still think this is a big step up, I think they recaptured some Pierced From Within here, and I hope they continue to, Chopped in half.
Whether this could be viewed the band’s finest hour is debatable, but the truth is that it did provide some kind of a small climax in the guys’ discography from the new millennium as the two subsequent efforts, the recently released “...of the Dark Light” included, were built on the same patterns, both convincing and compelling enough, but hardly superior in any aspect. There’s a certain sense of deja-vu instilled throughout them as the veterans don’t strain themselves too much, preferring to merge with the voluminous competition at present. Well, there’s not much novelty to be squeezed out of the good old death metal template nowadays, truth be told, unless one wants to join the diversification campaign, of course; a thought that has never even remotely crossed the minds of the Suffocation team who have long since sworn allegiance to this gorgeously “off-putting”, mind-bogglingly complex on occasion, age-old genre.
Tracks
01. Blood Oath
02. Dismal Dream
03. Pray for Forgiveness
04. Images of Purgatory
05. Cataclysmic Purification
06. Mental Hemorrhage
07. Come Hell or High Priest
08. Undeserving
09. Provoking the Disturbed
10. Marital Decimation
11. Pray for Forgiveness (Instrumental)
If you like it, please buy it on their official website/merchandise.
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