Hymns from the Apocrypha

After a long 6 years of silence, the brutal death metal kings themselves Suffocation are back with a monstrous new album called “Hymns From The Apocrypha”. This is their first record without the iconic Frank Mullen, who retired from the band after nearly 30 years with the band. His voice became the sound of Suffocation and was easily recognizable, so I was quite on the fence to some extent when it came to this new record. But fortunately, all those things were squashed because this album is heavy as fuck. Easily surpassing their previous couple of albums for me.

Right from the opening title track you know it’s fucking Suffocation. It’s heavy from the start and it’s heavy to the end. Filled to the brim with crunchy guitar riffage and slams, which is a staple in their sound. The guitars are very powerful when it comes down to production quality, bringing up the technical aspects and beats. Of course, this album is filled with obnoxiously heavy breakdowns that are just so irresistible to not headbang to. The grooves and slams in “Perpetual Deception” are a lovely example of these things. It’s groovy, slammy, and all-around intense. This album just grabs you by the throat and thrashes you around for an entire 41 minutes.

Let’s also bring up Ricky Myers's vocal performance. He is an excellent singer and a great replacement for Frank Mullen. His vocals are deep and guttural, he sounds very similar to Frank in some respects. Especially in the guttural department, his vocals are crispy and are enunciated well. I’m glad they stuck with him, and his background in the legendary Disgorge (California) only backs him up more. Hell even Frank comes back as a guest/session vocalist on the final track “Ignorant Deprivation”. Which is a re-recording from their sophomore album, “Breeding the Spawn”. I didn’t even notice at first because Franks and Ricky’s vocals sound so similar it wasn’t until I truly paid attention that I realized. But he does an absolutely amazing job as he always does, showcasing why he’s one of the most iconic death metal vocalists ever. The song is a great way to close the album out, the breakdowns specifically are reminiscent of those old days of the band.

I really dig the production on here. It’s very powerful and clear yet maintains a strong punch and character. Derek Boyer's bass especially I think sounds really cool, as well as the drums. Which goddamn Eric Morotti beats the absolute fuck out of the drum kit. He’s just relentless with his blast beats and double bass it’s killer, and the snare sound as well is really fucking punchy. Everything about the sound and texture this album gives off just makes me want to bang my head and break something.

Songwriting and approach are what you’d expect from Suffocation. Incredibly technical with a mix of their old-school brutal death metal flare. The more structured technical solos and riffs mix well with their more traditional beatdowns. I feel like they wanted to combine all their best elements into one piece of music, and it worked out exponentially well. Terrance Hobbs is a genius death metal guitarist, he just writes insanely great guitar riffs and songs. His solos also are equally good as their frantic and squealy.

One of my favorites on this album is “Immortal Execration”. It starts off surprisingly slow with an ungodly heavy riff and double bass pattern. Ricky’s vocals creep into the sound and immediately jumpstart the song as it blasts and thrashes around. I love how groovy this song and most songs are on here, it’s one of the main things I look for and look forward to with any brutal death metal band. A catchy riff with a catchy beat along with intense energy that just hits like a damn freight train. Some other good songs are “Embrace the Suffering”, “Delusions of Mortality” and “Seraphim Enslavement”.

Suffocation really made an incredible comeback with “Hymns From The Apocrypha”. It’s the perfect blend of their modern and classic style and material. This year is blooming with incredible death metal albums and legendary acts returning to slaughter anyone who listens to them. Suffocation is one of my favorite bands of all time and this album is no exception to their amazing discography. Check it out if you haven’t. A great record.