Hymns from the Apocrypha

The first album after the departure of legendary Frank Mullen is finally here. And straight to the point, it's been a let down.

The last two albums of Suffocation (Pinnacle of Bedlam and ...Of the Dark Light) saw some changes. Suffocation was certainly incorporating new elements to their signature sound, but at the end it was still Suffocation. During my 3 times listening to the Hymns from the Apocrypha, I had to check couple of times if I was indeed listening to a Suffocation album. This could have very well been recommended to me (or made under the name) of some other band.

The most obvious "change" is, of course, the vocals. I am by no means expecting Ricky Myers to replace Frank Mullen completely and although he is actually doing a decent job at it, it is not a good fit. His vocals are one-dimensional and don't add much depth to the overall music, all the while lacking originality and being a poor imitation of Mullen. If Suffocation is going to continue with Myers, I'd expect his personal signature to be added but his vocals come across as uninspiring and poorly articulated. To make things worse, Mullen appears on the final track Ignorant Deprivation and his return can go unnoticed because of how eerily similar Myers's vocals are to his.

But the significant change is in the overall composition of Suffocation's sound and songwriting, It is utterly predictable if you are familiar with any modern death metal band. Unfortunately Suffocation's technical prowess is overshadowed by a lack of innovation, and their attempt to blend their old-school brutal death metal style with more structured technical solos and riffs feels forced and doesn't quite hit the mark. This creates, if I may say, a deathcore-y vibe to the whole album, which can be seen as overly complex and convoluted. While the abundance of guitar solos is a nice addition, it feels too alien and I don't think I've ever heard many solos in a Suffocation album before.

The production on this album, in my opinion, doesn't quite hit the mark. It may be powerful and clear, but it lacks character which would make it memorable, while being too polished and wanna-be modern.

Having said all of this, don't get me wrong. This is NOT a bad album. The musicianship of each member is peak. It's just not a Suffocation album.