Pinnacle of Bedlam

It's really funny how a change in lineup, regardless of how small the changes were, can change the sound of a band. Returning drummer Dave Culross replacing Mike Smith has changed the band a lot to the point where Suffocation has pretty much changed. Aside from the fact that Culross doesn't have that same raw power that Mike Smith does when it comes to beating the drums, he also has a much more traditional tech death feel when it comes to drumming. He's...faster, I guess? Though I feel that he's not as precise as Smith is when the latter was still in Suffocation. I'm not really sure how to describe his drumming style as I’m not a drummer, but if affected Suffocation as a whole. So how does that change for the rest of the band?

For one, the songs here, save for "Sullen Days" and the rerecording of "Beginning of Sorrow", are faster and has an obvious thrash influence. "As Grace Descends", a song that was released before this album was released, was an indication of that. Additionally, the breakdowns that Suffo is known for aren't nearly used, although they're still used to great extent. Despite the change to a faster, less (IMHO) sound, everything you'd expect is still there. The guitar solos, brought to us by Terrance Hobbs and Guy Marchais are still dark and atmospheric, slow, doomy, etc. and the riffs are still heavy, despite that the songs here don't seem to be as brutal in exchange for being faster. Bass-work by Derek Boyer also follows the same atmospheric creepiness, though at times (more often than not) it differs from the guitar-work. Frank Mullen didn't seem to change as much from Blood Oath to here as much as he did from the self-titled album to there. He still has the same guttural growl as before. No changes there.

Others might bitch about the production being too "clean", but I don't mind. Then again, I'm not one to complain about modern stuff, but than again, that may have been because I got into metal music fairly later than others.

Overall, it's a good album, an improvement from Blood Oath,which I felt was a disappointment to an extent but I really doubt that Suffocation will ever be able to top the masterpieces that were Effigy of the Forgotten and Pierced from Within.