Customer Reviews

Suffocation

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Suffocation are a band I first became familiar with a couple of years ago with a previous release, "Pierced From Within". I hadn't been exposed to any of their subsequent releases, and picked this one up after reading so many great reviews. Suffocation play an ultra-intense, super-progressive style of death metal with nearly unrivalled skill and musicianship. The closest band to copare them to is probably the Polish band Decapitated. Suffocation are at the top of their game on this album, with very heavy and complex arrangements and great production. Very technical and intense, with enough groove to draw you in and maintain interest. They manage to inject quite a bit of originality and creativity into the death metal genre- a genre not known for either. A must-own metal album, one of the best of 2006.

It's cool when an old band's newest release is good. It's awesome when it's one of their best, if not their best ever. Suffocation's self titled is one of the most amazing metal albums this reviewer has ever had the pleasure of hearing.
I started with the critically acclaimed Souls to Deny, but was disappointed by the murky production and sluggish pace of the songs; that album just didn't meet the hype. I figured that it was just a slipup, and bought their EOTF/PFW twofer. I was blown away: I hadn't heard that much energy with tight musicianship on that level ever before, and became a huge fan. A month later, I picked this up. This might be even better than Pierced From Within! Frank has perfected his vocal approach, while Terrance and Guy unleash a torrent of the most awesome riffs and solos this side of Necrophagist. Derek plays his bass as though it were another guitar, and Mike destroys his kite with almost godly persision and technique.
As far as highlights go, this album is packed with 'em. "Abomination Reborn" is easily the weakest on the album, but even that isn't saying much. "Bind Torture Kill" and "Redemption" outshine that track with ease, signaling a series of awesome tracks to follow. The best songs, however, are the last three. "Entrails Of You","The End of Ends", and "Prelude to Repulsion" are candidates for best Death Metal song of all time, and destroy the overrated "Demise of The Clone".
If you are interested in Suffo, don't start with this, as it's probably their most unrelenting album, and there isn't very much room to "breath". After you've acquired a taste for death metal, come back to this modern masterpiece.

2006 has been an above-average year for veteran metal acts' new albums. Celtic Frost put out a great comeback record. Slayer made their first solid record since 1990. Deicide, whose last few records were never better than fair, returned with a new lineup and the front-runner for best death metal album of 2006, "The Stench Of Redemption". Now comes Suffocation's self-titled 2006 album. This album is exactly what you expect from the New York death merchants. While it is not up to the heights of 1995's magnum opus Pierced From Within, I really enjoy this album much more than Souls To Deny. I would definitely rate this a solid tie for 2nd best Suffocation album with the 1998 EP Despise The Sun which isn't a full-length. Best songs include "Redemption" and "Bind, Torture, Kill".

one listen to their s/t album will tell you: they are here to stay. I have their 2K4 album "Souls To Deny" and I didn't have to even listen to the new album to tell everyone that it stomps. the bonus CD included with this album also stomps. I believe Suffocation is sending a message to Morbid Angel (please come back!), but I heard that Morbid Angel is coming out with a new album this year.

Suffocation returns with their best CD in 10 years and some have been calling it Pierced From Within part 2. It's time to put the word out; Suffocation is back in full swing

After the nervous anticipation of the brief intro "Oblivion", the carnage of the first track, "Abomination Reborn" ensues, kicking off the album with thundering kit work and commanding leads along with lacerating rhythms. The real progression for Suffocation is displayed wonderfully by "Redemption" which creates a sense of macabre, maniacal beauty with the ethereal clean guitar interlude next to their trademark dissonant brutality. The standout track in my opinion is "Bind Torture Kill". This is Suffocation at their best, combining slow breakdowns with amazing speed and clarity. "Translucent Patterns of Delirium" efficiently pummel the listener to a pulp with their steady yet subtle groove. The unbelievably sinister melodies and crushing midsections of "Misconceived" and "Creed of the Infidel" are undeniably some of the catchiest, yet most poignant moments of the album. After about the midpoint, the album gets less progressive and subtle, opting instead for what I consider the classic Suffocation, no frills, determination with cuts like the brooding "Regret", the vicious rumbling of Despise the Sun style "Entrials of You" and the nearly absurd fury carried by the intense weight of "The End of Ends", which I would describe as a whirlwind of chaos reminding me of another great Suffocation track, Suspended In Tribulation. By the end, Breeding the Spawn's "Prelude to Repulsion" brings the release to an absolutely decimating conclusion leaving the listener with what can only be described as pure euphoria.

Go get it ! Its not Effigy... and nothing will ever top Effigy, but this is 2006 and Suffocation is back.

The best death metal release since... well... Souls to Deny. This self titled opus from the gods of underground death, is pure gold from beginning to end, and is in every way a step up from the reunion album StD. The production problems from the previous record have been cured, the drum mix is excellent, the guitars sound nice and heavy but this time around you can actually pick out the intricacies of the riffs, and the solos (very audible this time) shred like no other. The reason why I bring up the production is that this may very well be a classic in the vein of Effigy & Pierced when everything is said and done, it's tough to tell after only a few listens whether or not this will stand the test of time as well, but I am getting more convinced everytime I spin the CD that this will be considered one of the greats. As far as individual performances are concerned, most notably Mike Smith turns in his best performance to date in my opinion, everything you love is there, the double bass work, the fills, and the signature blasts all sound better than ever, the man is a beast. The guitarwork on this CD is sick as hell, Terrence rips off some of the best riffs and solos he has ever come up with and Guy is making me forget the loss of Doug Cerrito. I really dig Derek Boyer (ex Decrepit Birth) on bass, he has an uber thick sound that really does stand out unlike most metal albums, and the guy was a perfect fit for this Suffocation v. 2.0. And that brings us to Frank who delivers his most demonic vocals to some of the gnarliest blood soaked lyrics he has ever written, truly f@cking sick dude.
To me the standout tracks are Bind Torture Kill, Creed of the Infidel, and Regret, however each track is STRONG there is not a skipper on here. Also as a nice bonus they threw in another rerecorded track from Breeding the Spawn (Prelude to Repulsion) showing how tragic it was that the material from that record was spoiled by awful production.

Well that's it, if you are true, you already own this, if you are on the fence do your self a favor and pick up the best death metal record you will hear in the year 2006! You'll thank me later.

I'm telling you, Suffocation just absolutely amaze and thrill me. These guys are definately one of the greatest and most influentual death metal bands on the face of the earth as well as being one of the pioneers of technical death metal as well, and there is absolutely nothing stopping these guys whatsoever. Their brand new self titled album is nothing short of technical death metal brilliance, and it's no doubt their best work of their career thus far. It even tops my favorite Suffocation album "Pierced From Within" in my estimation as well. This album is just full of fast brutal technical riffing, smoking leads, outstanding solos, awesome tempo changes, and punishing jackhammering drumwork. Frank Mullen's vocals are very inhuman, and good enough to scare some screamo kid silly. Terrance Hobbs and Guy Marchais's guitar riffs are just heavy and crushing, and the solos are outstaninding. Derek Boyer's bass lines are very thick, and of course Mike Smith's drumming is just phenominal on here. This album proves that he has not lost a single beat. His blast beats will pound you straight to the ground and his double bass kick patterns will have you feel like you've been shot by a machine gun.

As far as the songs on this album go, they're all great, but here are some highlights. "Obilivion" is a haunting 40 second intro which is soon followed by "Abomination Reborn" which is a punishing monster of a song with it's fast pounding drumwork, shredding riffs and a great solo. Track three "Redemption" has an nice creepy accoustic intro which is soon propelled into slowly crushing riffs as well as an jackhammering onslaught of blast beats. "Blind Torture Kill" features catchy guitarwork, some great rhythm and tempo changes, more punishing drumwork as well as some sick double bass onsluaghts, and a whammy-bar guitar solo near the end. Other blistering favorites include "Translucent Patterns of Delirium", "Creed of the Infidel", "Entrails of You", and an awesome crushing remake of "Prelude to Repulsion", a song which was originally on the band's 1993 album "Breeding the Spawn" (anybody know where I can find that album btw).
Jeremy's song ratings:
1. Oblivion (0:40) - N/A
2. Abomination Reborn (3:33) - 5/5
3. Redemption (5:24) - 5/5
4. Blind Torture Kill (5:43) - 5/5
5. Misconcieved (3:35) - 5/5
6. Translucent Patterns of Delirium (3:30) - 5/5
7. Creed of the Infidel (4:23) - 5/5
8. Regret (3:50) - 5/5
9. Entrails of You (4:20) - 5/5
10. The End of Ends (4:13) - 5/5
11. Prelude to Repulsion (4:58) - 5/5

Overall, this my friends is blistering New York Death Metal at it's finest, so if you're a fan of Suffocation, technical death metal, or just extreme heavy music in general, then by all means you must get this album as soon as possible. Well, later dudes!!

It's hard to describe how heavy this album is. The production of the guitars is incredibly clear and the tone is massive. The songs are complex, involving all the strange timings, odd harmonies and devastating break-down sections Suffocation is known for. My favorite song is 'Bind Torture Kill' - a masterful collection of brutal and catchy riffs and featuring what is arguably the single heaviest break-down section ever committed to tape. Every song is memorable and just monstrously, unimaginably heavy. Suffocation makes other metal acts look entirely tame by comparison, I can't stop listening to this album.

Suffocation has given us eleven more reasons why they are on top of the genre we call death metal. I first listened to this cd on their website with that ecard they have. At first it sounded not has hard as their previous albums and I almost wrote it off. But a couple of weeks later I went to my local Bestbuy and saw that they had this there. I had some extra cash on me and bought it. Well, I'm glad to say that song two blew my previous opinion I had out of the water (song one is a brief instrumental). So for the next forty minutes or so I was being brutally crushed and thrashed about like never before. I can't compare this to Souls to Deny because I don't own that one, but I've listened to this one more than Effigy and Pierced. Don't get me wrong, I love those two cds but this one was in my cd player than the other tow for a whole lot longer time. Don't know why, but it was. It's just as technical and brutal as their previous efforts and showcases great riffing, drumming, good bass work, and finally great vocals by Frank. In fact, one of the main reasons I like this album so much is because of Frank's vox. He does his best on this cd and shows why he is death metal's best growler. Awesome stuff. Also, my version that I bought came with a Relapse Records sampler with nineteen bands on it. Sweet. Great cover art also, even though it's not done by Seagrave.

As usual I sometimes put albums off before I really give them more of a listen, & recently this is the case for this self titled release by the almighty Suffocation. I'll be up front here & say that the one thing that made me put off buying this album for a few months was the fact that the production didn't sound very good. However, the production isn't really too bad, it's mainly the snare drum sound (too much reverberation) that doesn't sound very good...as many of us death metal fans know, if the drums sound terrible then the whole thing just doesn't sound right; so if you can look past the snare sound, then you'll be fine. As for the material in general...it's what you would expect from Suffocation in every way...but this release & their comeback CD 'Souls to Deny' are still not as good as the previous releases 'Pierced from Within' & 'Despise the Sun.' Check this out if you are a diehard fan of Suffocation, but if you are new to the band, check out 'Pierced from Within' & 'Despise the Sun' first.