So far, so good.
Suffocation have always achieved to maintain their cult status. After a temporary split in 1998 right after the release of the good
Despise the Sun MCD, Frank Mullen’s crew had come back with the honorable
Souls to Deny in 2004. Releases from the New-Yorkers had therefore crossed two decades almost effortlessly, even making their point furthermore with their formidable eponymous album (one of 2006's best Death
Metal releases) that they were still on top of Death
Metal food chain together with
Krisiun,
Nile and
Hate Eternal.
Thus, everyone was indulging in the thought that
Suffocation was the kind of band that could never ever release a so-so album. In addition to this, it seems the band had crossed yet another threshold in their career by dropping original Relapse in favor of the even bigger German
Nuclear Blast. As if it were not enough, the superb crimson cover of
Blood Oath (2009) was enough to let us think that once more the originators of the
Brutal and Technical Death
Metal genre were going to deliver inspired and ultra-powerful compositions as usual.
The track
Blood Oath actually starts off with a very fast double pedal blast reminiscent of
Hate Eternal. As for the rest,
Suffocation’s style and riffing are recognizable at first listen with guitar parts precise and relatively complex, a snapping bass brilliantly complementing the drums, the powerful and clear production just like in their previous release and obviously the outstanding growls of Sir Mullen.
Dismal Dream is ideally positioned as the second track to definitely propel the album, throwing off a terrible break followed right after by a downpour of crushing rhythmic parts from the Marchais / Hobbs pair. The heaviness and the energy developed on this track could certainly not fear the comparison between the two previous albums.
But then, only after a few tracks, a slight feeling of déjà-vu starts to appear. It’s not that the songs are bad. Images of
Purgatory will unleash some heavy firepower when it comes down to guitars (be it rhythm or lead parts) or Undeserving that combines both stops/accelerations with formidable precision and even some dissonant riffs which had never been to this day a
Suffocation trademark.
Still, for instance a track like Cataclysmic
Purification seems to have been played countless times on
Suffocation’s other releases and even though it would probably be the perfect song to be played live, it still feels repetitive.
It's quite certain that Terrance Hobbs and his minions have just composed tracks the way they've always done without giving it too much thinking. Obviously even an 80%
Suffocation would still bury 6 feet under most of their young counterparts, and a track like
Mental Hemorrhage would teach most a thing or two when it comes to power with Frank Mullen showing the range of his extraordinarily guttural and deep growling. However some things will last: Marital
Decimation, an old track from
Breeding the Spawn (something the NY Deathsters like to recreate on each and every album), is one of the most incisive tracks from this album…
Is
Blood Oath a mediocre record? Is it the beginning of the end? I certainly don’t think so, but when a band generates such great expectations, you can’t escape a feeling of disappointment when you can’t release some monstrous record.
Suffocation simply did not transcend themselves, faring effortlessly at cruising speed. If one would dare such a comparison, let’s just say that
Effigy of the Forgotten and
Pierced from Within were speeding like a 120 mph rocket, that eponymous
Suffocation was still above 100 mph, but with this record they’re just keeping it over 80 mph with cruise control on... Still let’s not worry too much, Frank Mullen and co are still not the kind of drivers that take secondary roads like
Obituary or byroads like
Six Feet Under…
Though it probably will not go down in history,
Blood Oath is adding up to the already quite big list of good Death
Metal releases from 2009 and will enable the fans (and believe me I know what I’m talking about) to spend some real quality time. Perhaps
Suffocation will cross yet again another threshold of recognition with the help of
Nuclear Blast’s huge distribution potential should they deem the band one of their top priorities (but that’s a whole another story…).
Let’s take the bet that the next release will be a legendary one and will rest together with
Effigy of the Forgottent and
Pierced from Within…
This is not my own review. It's merely a translation of BEERGRINDER's review originally written in French and translated into English with his consent. For the original review in French, please go to: http://www.spirit-of-metal.com/album-groupe-
Suffocation-nom_album-Blood_Oath-l-fr.html
Tienes que ser miembro para poder añadir un comentario