Suffocation
Souls to Deny
Relapse Records
After breaking up in the late 90’s, Suffocation is back to prove that death metal is still the most brutal musical form on the planet, and that they are still on top of their game. If you’ve never heard the band, then you don’t know what you’re missing. Killer grinding riffs, sudden time changes, grunty (yet kinda understandable) vocals, double-bass drumming and blastbeats out the ass, and song structures that leave you begging for more. Crank up this disc of digital death and tell me those slow grinding guitars don’t bore through your gut like a rock drill through the earth’s crust. Tell me during the quick riffing leading up to the next crescendo of musical carnage, adrenaline doesn’t coarse through your veins and make you want to choke-slam a cat!
"Deceit" opens this release with blastbeats that fade in quickly grabbing you by the throat and not letting go until the blastbeats that fade out with the last track "Tomes of Acrimony". Everything in between is prime murder material. I honestly can’t name any standout tracks, because they are all worthy of the praise of death, so I’ll just go with the title track for brevity sake. The opening to the song made me think it was a live track, but it’s actually tortured screams (probably some of those denied souls...hehe) with ominous atmospheric background noises. After a few seconds, the screams become a nice soothing female "aaahhhhhhh", and then the punishment begins as the bands launches into their forte. Good stuff.
Original members Frank Mullen (vocals) and Terrance Hobbs (guitar) have teamed back up with former member Mike Smith (drums). And along with two new guys, Derek Boyer (bass) and Guy Marchais (guitar), Suffocation really excels here. With a blend of old school death metal and Slayer-esque solos, combined with the technical prowess exhibited from their 1995 release Pierced From Within, hopefully the genre with take some lessons.
