Customer Reviews

Effigy of the Forgotton / Pierced From Within

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This release is a complete joy to those of us who have either just gotten into Suffocation, or for those fans who are still holding onto those worn out copies from when they first came out... Roadrunner may be evolving into a much different label from when these guys were on the death metal roster, but they have put together a very solid, respectful package... and don't let the slightly cheapie looking cover fool you (as it did to me)... inside the booklet are full reproductions of both classic covers, included with song credits and various band photos...

While this is not a replacement for your original copies, it is a top-notch addition to your collection (not to mention a great backup), and it's perfect for those of us still wanting to grab the original versions later on (damn completist obsessions!)...

Suffocation is the leader in technical death metal. To this day, they continue to release great CDs. The 2 CDs you get here are probably their best. These albums sound great and have extra tracks that are worth exploring. This stuff may be a few years old, but it doesn't lack in brutality, that's for sure.

When I was just getting into death metal a few months back, I stumbled upon the Roadrunner "Two-fer" reissues. I've purchased all but one of them--I don't really need Biohazard with a live album added on, thanks--and I think it's a great collection.

The guy who gave this 1-star before is a Suffocation collector. Everything he says is true, but I just don't give a damn, myself. I was interested in getting as many albums with as little cash as possible, so these sets really helped me find a lot of great music (Pestilence, Exhorder, Gorguts) without going totally broke or taking up another four rows on my already-packed CD shelf. If you're a purist, then wouldn't you already have these? Aside from getting both CDs for $17, all I care about is 1)getting the complete albums, 2)getting remastered editions if possible, and 3)having the original cover maybe with some liner notes.

So there, between our two reviews, you have the whole picture. Now kill yourself.

Roadrunner records deserves a heaping of praise for its new "Two From The Vault" series. Now, for one extra-low price, you can get two classic albums from the heaviest, most technical death metal band ever in one handy package. Listening to the great "Effigy Of The Forgotten" and the even greater "Pierced From Within" chronologically, you can really see not only how Suffocation evolved from one album to another but what elevated them above the plethora of run-of-the-mill death-metal bands. Morbid Angel and the like do a pretty good job of exemplifying what the genre is about, but during their brief existence (and hopefully their recent comeback as well), Suffocation were basically playing a different game altogether. I can think of no other band that played such complex, technical stuff without sacrificing even a bit of the brutality characteristic of death metal. Death's later output was even more technically advanced than Suffocation's, but noticeably less heavy, to the point where it couldn't even really be called death metal (this is certainly not meant to knock Death; they ruled!). But anyway, "Effigy" and "Pierced" clearly stand as paragons of how technical death should be done.

"Effigy" is a steamroller of stunning power and heaviness, with Frank Mullen's impossibly low gurgling grunt serving as an extra instrument to complement the crushing riffs of Terrence Hobbs and Doug Cerrito and Mike Smith's crazy drum patterns. The opening "Liege Of Inveracity" and the following title track, especially, are among the most oppressive death metal songs ever. Both tracks demonstrate just how masterful this band was at mixing their aural punishment with equal amounts of musicianship and groove. It's on the stunning "Pierced From Within," however, that Suffo really showed what they could do. If "Effigy" established the band as leaders of the death metal pack, "Pierced" separated them from said pack completely. Death's "Symbolic" and Carcass's "Heartwork" came out the same year, and while those albums are both justly praised as classics neither one is as relentlessly vicious or viscerally impacting as Suffocation's masterpiece was. While "Effigy" was a finely honed killing machine of an album, "Pierced" saw the band refining their approach even further, adding even more reams of complexity to their already potent sound.

Perhaps the most notable change on "Pierced" is in Frank's vocals. His throat-scarring grunt from the band's debut was gone, replaced by a vicious, menacing growl that added clarity without sacrificing brutality. The songs themselves became more rhythmically complex and less predictable, with frequent tempo changes and some astonishingly intricate riff structures from Doug and Terrence. Most important of all, though, was the addition of drummer Doug Bohn. His predecessor, Mike Smith, was great himself, but Doug is just a machine, taking every bit of the skill of math metal drummers like Meshuggah's Tomas Haake and Candiria's Kenneth Schalk and applying it to death metal. Blastbeats, double-bass, you name it: Doug did it, and in a creative and unpredictable manner as well. I don't think I've ever heard another drummer make use of dynamics as well as Doug did here, varying his assault constantly for some of the most endlessly fascinating drumwork these ears have heard. Not even to mention, Chris Richards's bass lines were heavy enough to shake houses at their foundations.

I'd write a long conclusion to this review right now, but I have to get back to work. So to sum up: this albums are great, and this package is essential for anyone looking to discover Suffocation. So stop reading and pick it up now!

Two brutal technical death metal masterworks for the price of one(both being EXTREMELY hard to get now)??? This has got to be any metalhead's wet dream. This is also the best thing Roadrunner has done within the past ten years (especially since they started sucking in the mid 90's-present), although they could of done a lot better on the layout and included the lyrics in the booklet(keep in mind, i'm reviewing the music, not the format of it). With that said 'Effigy of the forgotten' and 'Pierced from Within' are both equally brilliant technical slabs of brutal death metal and are still unmatchable in their vision and ferocity today! It's just that it all flows together so well, organic sounding in the way that none of it sounds forced and almost amorphous in the way they shift back and forth between various tempos. I must also note that Frank Mullen is probably my favorite death metal vocalist: bar none. Some personal favorites from both albums include "Infecting the crypts", "Liege of Inveracity","Thrones of blood","Suspended in Tribulation", and "Torn into Enthrallment" but hell, they're all good rip-roaring death metal fun, so either get this Roadrunner release(Still sucks that your hard earned money goes to such a now-crappy label) or find the cd's seperate offline it's well worth it!

P.S. They're AMAZING live!

When I heard that these two amazing albums were going to be re-released, remastered and put onto one cd, I was very excited. Unfortunately, it's not worth the money. If you are a Suffocation fan, you probably already own these two albums.

The packaging of this CD is downright pathetic. The insert does not contain ANY lyrics or any additional pictures. In fact, the insert is downright worthless. As for the sound... I cant tell the difference between this CD and the original version. Seems like a money grab for the record company. I would NOT recommend picking this release up.

In my opinion, Suffocation are easily the best death metal band around. There are other great bands out there too, but Suffocation just seems to create music that shows they really know how to make the best technical death metal out there. Every song on here is great and the musicianship and vocals are simply amazing. The production may not have the same quality that Souls to Deny has but that doesn't mean it should lose points for that. Since both of these cds have become harder to find over the years, its nice to be able to get both of them in one convienent package. Overall, I highly recommend this if you are a Suffocation fan or are into death metal at all.

The modern Roadrunner Records, for the most part, blo ws hard and bad without even inhailing, but how can you deny the existence of God now that they have begun to rerelease most of their classic albums either as a 'Best Of...' collection or as a double pack (well, they are both of the same C.D. but it seems like an appropriate description). And they could not have done any better than releasing godlike Suffocation's classics 'Effigy of the Forgotton' and 'Pierced From Within'. Both of these ablums are beyond words, true death metal materpieces of the highest quality. 'Effigy of the Forgotton' is one of the most alurring debuts in metal history with the brilliant production and music, not to mention songs like "Seeds of the Suffering" and "Reincremation". 'Pierced From Withing' is perhaps one of my top five favorite death metal albums (up there with Death, Immolation, and Incantation). "Surpended in Tribulation" is one of the greatest death metal songs in history! He ll I can't say enough about these two albums except to buy this album (if you don't already have them seperate)! You nu-metallers should get a kick out of this one, a swift kick to the fri ggin' head.

Two great death metal cd's for the price of one this is an excellent bargain.Effigy of the forgotten and pierced from within are two great cd's by one of the heaviest if not the heaviest band of all-time.Buy it today!

If you've read the reviews for both of these cds, then you'll know how sweet of a deal this is... well worth it for a new listener to this band! Sure the cover is waaaay cheesy and could've been handled better, but since these two are harder to locate in most stores, this certainly is value for your money... buy this, then grab the rest of their catalogue... and then wait for their new one to come out next year on Relapse!

Two classic Suffocation ablums for the price of one. Effigy and Pierced together, awesome, awesome albums that stand alone but come together. The most copied band in all of Death Metal. Can't stress what a great deal it is to pick up these 2 from the vault offer. Both of these releases were hugely influnential. Decibel Magazine put Effigy in their Hall of Fame, and put Pierced in the top 20 Death Metal albums of all time. You will not be disappointed.