Pinnacle of Bedlam

When the cover of Suffocation's seventh full-length, along with teaser track 'As Grace Descends', was revealed I got scared, really scared. The artwork was butt ugly and mostly resembled a cheap Job For A Cowboy-rehash. The teaser track simply reeked of thrash and hardcore influences. Would this be the end of yet another death metal behemoth? Had Suffocation done the unspeakable and started cheating on me with that bitch deathcore? Naturally, I prepared both the noose and the kool-aid before I gave the album a first spin.

So how did it all end up? Well, I am still here, am I not?! Actually 'Pinnacle Of Bedlam' shows Suffocation taking both some steps back and a couple forwards. Continuing on the atmospheric journey of 'Blood Oath', adding the intricate melodies of 'Souls To Deny' and the technical extravaganza of 'Pierced From Within', it really is good old Suffocation back behind the wheels. The modern influences are kept to a bare minimum with the exception of the aforementioned track and the still butt ugly album art.

The most notable musical changes compared to previous albums are in fact the vocals and the drumming. Frank Mullen is more pronounced and less guttural than you have ever heard him before. This trend had been going on the last few albums and I think he pulls of the vocals brilliantly once again showing he is not only one of the best death metal vocalists out there but also one of the most versatile. Probably the most discussed change beforehand was that of Dave Culross replacing Mike Smith behind the drum kit. The departure of Smith's dynamic and unigue drumming is of course a loss to any band but Culross is incredubly tight as well and has a style that is well on par with Suffocation's current musical evolution. The band has also started to experiment with slow atmospheric pieces, e.g the intro and outro of 'Sullen Days', which is an unexpected, but welcome, addition to the deadly Suffocation arsenal.

What really stands out though on 'Pinnacle of Bedlam' is the production. Gone is the thick trademark wall of sound, replaced by a crisp, clear modern production. At first I thought this basically brought the entire album down but after a few listens I started to see what the band really is onto. One cannot help but wonder though how this really strong material would have sounded with a "classic" Suffocation-production. Like all Suffocation albums 'Pinnacle of Bedlam' keeps growing with each listen and for the moment this is their best effort since the under-rated masterpiece 'Souls To Deny'.

2012 was the year the old titans showed the youngsters how extreme metal really is done. 'Pinnacle Of Bedlam' surely display that 2013 will follow that trend.


Originally written for www.metalcovenant.com