Now, Suffocation are really a band that require little or no introduction. But for those of you who are new or curious to the death metal scene; then these guys are quite probably one of the most (if not THE most) influential extreme metal acts of all time. Their opening release of Effigy of the Forgotten sent a massive boot up the death metal world’s ass in the early nineties, and the repercussions of this are still being felt today in every nook and cranny of technical and brutal metal.
So after the impressive and very well received self-titled album a couple of years ago, and with the ink on a new record deal with Nuclear Blast barely dry, could Suffocation continue to lead the way in the field of brutal death metal? Well, yes and no. Certainly, ‘Blood Oath’ is an album that is brimming with technicality (as you would expect) and it has about the same level of brutality as the excellent “Pierced from Within” and “Souls to Deny” releases.
For example, opener “Blood Oath” is one hell of an ominous, thundering track that is typical Suffocation, with Frank Mullen sounding typically pissed off over the top. As you would expect, the drumming is amazing, as per usual from Mike Smith and the rhythms laid down are both twisted and seemingly arranged by someone recently released from a mental asylum.
“Dismal Dream” is an interesting one; there’s so much going on in this track. Sometimes you feel that the song is about to be pulled apart at the seams only to come back together at the last moment, and it’s certainly a song that takes more than a few listens to fully appreciate it.
One thing I’m still not sure about (even after several listens) is whether I like the mix or not......I sway from thinking that it is a cross between classic Suffocation whilst at the same time wishing that it was a little less muddy, and had a bit more crispness that the self-titled release had. Personally, I think that the arrangement lends itself to a little bit of a more crisp production, such is the quality of these boys’ song-writing.
“Pray For Forgiveness” is fairly good but get a little plodding until the solo kicks in which is probably one of the better solos that Suffocation have ever put together but this one maybe goes on a little longer than it should. In fact, one of the highlights of Blood Oath is some of the soloing courtesy of Terrance Hobbs, and his talents are clearly on display here.
Now what I’m about to say pains me. I was looking forward to this release more than a little. To be honest, I was salivating at the thought of how Blood Oath would sound being a fan from the early days; but what this release seems to lack when compared to their previous release are songs that stick in the memory, and pieces that have some of the groove as on previous releases. In fact, I’d even go as far to say that once you’re halfway through “Blood Oath”, there won’t be too many surprises after this point.
Yes, for sure it’s got all the structures and arrangements in place, but it’s lacking the same level of soul as some of their previous work. I know I’ll incur the wrath some death metal aficionados here, but it I feel the same as when I heard the last Nile album. Yeah. It was still bloody good metal, and there is work here that musicians from within the scene will be listening to and waxing lyrical over, but for me, the songs on Blood Oath didn’t mesh together and work as songs as well as they might have.
You know that the material of this album will still go down a bloody storm live and you know that they are always going to rule in this arena, but for me, this wasn’t the step forward that I think was expecting. Maybe after ten more listens I’ll see the light and end up re-reviewing the album with a glowing review, but at the moment, I’m left feeling a little luke-warm.
http://www.suffocation.us
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