Customer Reviews

Effigy of the Forgotten

5 star:		(52)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

But this is still about as good as brutal death metal gets. "Pierced" sounds a little more polished to me, not only in production, but in songwriting. And "Pierced" has a little more variation in songs. But "Effigy" is still more or less essential if you're serious about Death Metal.

Mike Smith's drumming is creative and excellent and the Hobbs and Cerito twin guitar attack may be my favorite in the whole Death Metal genre. Mullin's vocals are almost impossible to decipher on this album (not so on "Pierced"). However, he is probably my favorite brutal DM vocalist overall.

The cool thing about Suffocation is that repeated listenings reveal a little more detail. There are always hooks and changes in the songs that keep jumping out at you, which is what seperates this band from some of the "sonic sludge" you get in a lot of extreme metal.

Geez, what a pleasure. Is Suffocation. The Grandfathers of GOOD Technical Death Metal. By many considered their best and my personal favorite. Guitar Solos that kill the speakers. Heavy AS HELL Riffs. A drummer that kicks an ALMOST INFINITE amount of a$$ and a vocalist that has one of the best growlings in the business. Suffocation delivers top quality music (You guys know that anyway. If you are here, you are not one of those ignorant douche bags that can't come up with something other than a lame "This is just noise" comment)
This is the stuff that must be played in the cars. This is the stuff that must be played in the radio. I don't know you, but any time I can, I deliver some Suffocation into the ears of my friends (Although I stop when they began praying for their lives).
They have said a bunch of times but I gotta say it too.
IS SUFFOCATION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I consider this as among the top 5 metal album I have listened to. I don't really know how to review it in technical terms and I'm lazy to try, so I'll just describe it in a few simple words: I'll kill if this cd is taken from me.

One has to wonder just how many instruments Suffocation went through when recording their first full-length album, 1991's godly "Effigy of the Forgotten," almost two decades ago. Chances are, the number of picks, strings, fretboards, drums, and sticks were shredded, set ablaze, and pounded into splinters at the hands of this Long Island, New York-based quintet, it was in the neighborhood of a thousand. But whatever that number was, it was worth it, because the album turned out to be the band's breakthrough release, as well as an incredibly masterful and influential extreme metal landmark that would go on to inspire a whole new generation of bands.

"EotF" is a truly uncompromising, relentlessly smoldering, massively devastating, and, well, suffocating aural onslaught. It is as technical as death metal gets, and it is so fast and brutal that it also borders on grindcore. Every band member is at the top of his game here, but especially noteworthy mention goes to the guitar duo from hell: Terrance Hobbs and Doug Cerrito, who now undeniably deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as Slayer's Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman. Both axemen are equally amazing, and their playing is just flat-out mind-blowing in its sophistication, brilliance, talent, and perfection. They display their talents by unleashing an utterly insane, inventive, and crushing collage of excellent, savage, dizzingly intricate dogfight riffs, impossibly technical, airtight, smoke-inducing leads, and great solos. Meanwhile, Josh Barohn's good bass lines and Mike Smith's fabulously fast and impeccable drumming (i.e. almost constant blasting) combine to lay the foundation for the songs, and create an rock solid rhythm section, and vocalist Frank Mullen lays down one mean, powerful, from-the-gut (yet still intelligible) death-growl after another.

All of these nine songs follow the same structure, so initial listens might lead some to think the album is really repetitive and monotonous. But truth be told, there are many musical wrinkles, arrangement variations, and standout tracks to be found here. Opener "Liege of Interactivity" gets the ball rolling immediately; it launches out of the starting gate with an almost frighteningly fast, earth-scorching deluge of cracking, hyper-kinetic blast beats, killer, buzzsaw riffing. The tempo slows just a tad and adopts catchy, churning riffs about midway through, but after two glass-shattering solos kick in, the remainder of the song picks up right where it left off, and whooshes by at lightning-fast speed. The proceeding title cut is equally as blindingly fast as "Liege of Interactivity," and also has a noteworthy bass intro, a great, ascending and descending guitar solo (which actually has quite a bit of melody in it), and head-banging, mosh pit-ready breakdowns (which are tossed in only to make the next stretch even more breakneck). Following this, Suffocation take their foot off the accelerator just a little bit for "Infecting the Crypts," a slightly more mid-tempo piece with nice, grinding riffs and great, strong bass work throughout. (In fact, there is a part in this song where the guitars drop off, and the bassist competes one-on-one against Smith's pummeling blasts.)

Later on, "Habitual Infamy" is backed by thunderous rhythms and strategically-placed, perfectly-executed, stop-on-a-dime breakdowns; and the very appropriately titled "Mass Obliteration" sounds like Slayer on steroids - it tears the listener's head off with buzzsaw riffage, shredding solos, and catchy vocal patterns in the choruses. And elsewhere, "Involuntary Slaughter" boasts two solos (one careening, the other ripping); and set closer "Jesus Wept" features the album's best solos. Hobbs and Cerrito each get to lay down one technical, lengthy, wailing, soaring melodic solo apiece, and when combined together, they last the better part of a minute.

Finally, "Seeds of the Suffering" and "Reincremation" are two especially masterful riff-o-ramas, and they just might be the album's biggest highpoints (I saved the best for last!). Hobbs and Cerrito simply set their fretboards on fire, and they rocket these songs forward with tons and tons of maniacally complex, crunchy, blistering riffs that duel back and forth throughout the song, with each axeman fighting to get the lead. Needless to say, the guitar acrobatics heard on both of these songs is simply astounding. (The former is also of note for its fairly long and very mazey solo, and the latter for its neck snapping tempo changes, and quick drum solo.)

The bottom line? If there ever was an undeniably godly death-grind masterpiece (especially released in the 1990's), then this is it. "Effigy of the Forgotten" isn't recommended for the weak of heart, but it is absolutely essential for all metalheads worldwide.

What can one say, that hasn't already been said, about the most imitated band within the death metal genre? Suffocation have influenced legions of bands who have came after them; and after 15 years, they have been able to maintain their status as the most brutal band in existence (a direct quote from legendary producer Scott Burns), literally leaving all others in their dust. Furthermore, they remain at the pinnacle of death metal music and continue to be the band that all others seem to aspire to, but can never quite surpass.

With that said, "Effigy of the Forgotten" remains THE defining album of Suffocation's illustrious career, not only for the band, but for death metal as well. Below is my analysis of what makes this album a "must own" for any true fan of death metal.

1) Sheer brutality. As hard as any death metal fan may look, a more brutal album simply will not be found (though "Demigod" from Behemoth is slightly more intense and manages to be a little faster). "Effigy of the Forgotten" is relentless, raw, inaccessible, and brutal death metal to its very core. At the risk of resurrecting and tired and overused cliché, I must say that if one were to look for the meaning of death metal in the dictionary, "Effigy of the Forgotten" would be the album referenced in such a definition. It contains all of the elements which characterize death metal: (a) growling and indecipherable vocals which will amaze the listener that a human being could maintain such a prolonged assault on the vocal cords - Frank Mullin is truly a gifted death metal vocalist, (b) sheer speed which never lets up, and (c) down-tuned guitars played with a precision technicality that could split hairs (solos included).

2) "Effigy of the Forgotten" manages to highlight the talents of the band members to the nth degree. All of the individuals who make up Suffocation are truly accomplished musicians, and should serve as a reference for any death metal fan seeking to defend the genre against attacks aimed at stereotyping extreme metal musicians as lacking talent and capitalizing on nothing more than simple power chords. Suffocation is truly a band of accomplished musicians...period! As a matter of fact, it was Suffocation who defined an entirely new subgenre of extreme metal now known as "brutal technical death metal," and it was "Effigy of the Forgotten" which served as the album that launched this brand of music to all who would dare to listen. Of course, fans know that this music caught on in the death metal underground, and placed Suffocation in their rightful thrones as the kings of an entire genre. Nowadays, it seems that, not only is Suffocation the most emulated band within extreme music, but they seem to be the most referenced as well, as evidenced by countless reviews of other death metal bands/albums comparing them to Suffocation.

3) Perhaps the best compliment I can pay to the band in this review is the fact that "Effigy of the Forgotten" is an enjoyable album to listen to (if you love extreme music). I often find myself listening to the album in its entirety when I decide to place it in my CD player. One thing I want to elucidate; however, is that "Effigy of the Forgotten" is an extremely brutal album. Anyone who is new to death metal and looking to purchase an album to orient him/her to the genre may want to look elsewhere initially, as "Effigy of the Forgotten" is not an easy album to listen to if one is not familiar with the stylings of death metal. However, to any true death metal fan, "Effigy of the Forgotten" is the quintessential album to own, and should be on the shelf of anyone who calls him/herself a fan of extreme music.

As is typical of my reviews, I must point out that no album is perfect. And "Effigy of the Forgotten" does have a flaw - minimal variation and uniqueness between songs. Many of the songs on the album, though very good, sound similar to one another. This is unfortunate, because such a flaw is egregious, especially for a band as immensely talented as Suffocation, and therefore serves as the basis of my deducting ½ star and not giving the album a perfect rating. In addition, the similarity among the songs serve as the primary reason I listen to the album in its entirety without giving preference to a single song. Though collectively, "Effigy of the Forgotten" plays as an outstanding album, unfortunately there is no single song (or songs) that stand out. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that all of the songs sound exactly alike, as enough variation does exist for a fan accustomed to death metal to differentiate between songs. Despite this, each song fails to have it's "signature stamp" which will make it immediately recognizable upon initial listening. However, I feel that it is worth noting that with the later release of "Pierced from Within" Suffocation proved they can write insanely brutal songs and retain the uniqueness, distinctiveness, and variation among each song that makes an album truly great.

In conclusion, despite the obvious flaw I most definitely would call "Effigy of the Forgotten" a "must own" album. As I mentioned before, it is the album (and Suffocation is the band) that launched the brutal death metal movement that has become so emulated within the last decade. Suffocation are truly the kings of death metal, and are likely to be for some time to come.

this is death metal. you need look no further. from the sludgy production to the densely twisted riffage, from the jackhammer drumming to the sepulchral growls, everything that defines the genre is right here. there is a feral intensity to this work that turns bones to dust and drives sane men mad. so much for the music. I like two other things about this. first of all, the apocalyptic and almost cosmic nihilism of the lyrics. second of all, the picture on the back. these thin young men in jeans and torn t-shirts are starkly real. I find the fact that they pooled their desperate alienation to make this particular music inspiring. As brutal and esoteric as this disc is, as uncompromising and unsentimental, there is something in it that points the way to redemption. By building an effigy to the forgotten, Suffocation strangely succeeds at offering hope to the hopeless.

For a first full-length release, I don't think it has ever been better, for any band, in any genre of music, in history. That is an objective fact. Suffocation, with "Effigy of the Forgotten", basically solidified their place in metal history with this insane, brutal, beautiful work. To begin with, Frank's vocals on here are his absolute best; they function as a 5th instrument, and are simply amazing. The guitar work of Hobbs and Cerrito is, as always, superb; they have a distinctive writing style that is evident on some of Cerrito's writing for Hate Eternal. Here, it is killer. Mike Smith, as a drummer, is possibly the most precise, tight, skilled percussionist I have ever had the pleasure to hear. His mastery of the double bass intricacies results in a fluid, almost organic display of drumming prowess on this album. This may sound overly flowery, but it is deserving. You will not find a better example of beautifully crafted brutality ever again. Not even Nile and Cryptopsy can touch this one. Do yourself a favor, and buy it.

this is one of the greatest albums that i have ever heard. not only is it fast and technical, but it is unbelievably heavy(which is a difficult combination to find. there is virtually no way to describe this music to anyone who is not in some manner familiar with it. i played this for some friends one night and they just could not take it. they did not believe that this was possible to play live and it was all done with machines or something.i wish that these guys were still around to do battle with cryptopsy for world domination...please come back...

Okay, I picked this up from the recommendations of online metal fans, and I have to say THANK YOU GUYS! I am more interested in straight-out death metal than any other subgenre, and wow this is great stuff! I mean, these guys are fantastic musicians, with complex, lively riffs, solid drumwork, wild vocals, and lyrics not quite as sick but therefore so much more intelligent than the content of bands like Cannibal Corpse. I will be sure to buy their other albums in a little while, when I can afford to grab them. So if you haven't heard this group, but love REAL death metal, this is a must-have! Don't think about it, just buy. You will not be disappointed! It's too damn bad they're not a band anymore...

If anyone thinks that this is traditional, cookie-cutter style Florida death metal, prepare to be proven dead wrong. Downright jazzy at times, and more technical than a computer manual, these guys will eat you up and spit your bloody remains out onto a table, where a pack of ravens will come and peck at the leftovers.

I suggest starting with this, as it is my favorite, but dont forget Breeding the Spawn and Pierced from Within. And as always, this annihilates Six Feet Under.