Pinnacle of Bedlam

Suffocation’s latest effort is a punch in the face. Not only a hard one, but also an accurate one. No wonder they are, by far, one of the most influential death metal acts out there.

That was straight, I’ll give me that, and that’s exactly how this record takes off: straight to your nuts. Now, that’s not really a surprise, is it? If you’ve listened to anything these guys have released in the past — at least what’s left of’em , you know they won’t waste time with elementary intros talk. Needless to say they won’t give the listener a minute of peace until the record is over.

Aside the usual crushing technical riffs, blasting drums and growls, there’s one staple of Suffocation’s sound that makes their fans keep listening to their albums: It’s called coherence, you know. Coherence within the songs that goes beyond the mediocrity of most br00tal fuckos trying to sound eebol. You can bet your ass the subtle way they make their themes and leif motifs to make sense goes unnoticed for many. Still, it’s there.

Perhaps, “Sullen days” is the most illustrative example of what I say. Even though the guitar line in the beginning might feel relaxingly mesmerizing, as soon as it’s there you know it won’t last. So, what could have been a brake for your miserable ears becomes another element of tension. We all know an instrumental ballad is not something we may expect from these New Yorkers, but then again, they do know how to slow the pace and still make it heavy. Also, and without simply modifying the melody to make it a distorted riff, it’s to be noted how riffs and melodies always make sense, no matter they were written for part A, B, or C of the song. In fact, there’s nothing like A-B-C patterns here; it’s all about a complex knitting that you need to understand altogether. You can try at least.

I used that example because it’s easier to identify and analyze such elements in slow motion, but make no mistake, all songs here are thoroughly written and well-thought. They’re full of details and nothing is there by chance. Many so called technical bands tend to forget music for the sake of showing off. Suffocation don’t.

Being this the first record released after Mike Smith’s second departure, drumming is to be paid attention to. Luckily for us all, I can gladly inform that he won’t be missed; Mr Dave Culross fulfills his duties well, and not being a stranger, he got the hang of it pretty soon if you ask me. Also, he adds for the traditional death metal beat of this contemporary release.

In general, I’d say no one could be disappointed by “Pinnacle of bedlam”. Suffocation stand for consistency if anything, and although they’re sound is a bit faster and the production is cleaner than usual, that shouldn’t be a problem. Thumbs up.

Pay special attention to: “Cycles of Suffering”, “As Grace Descends”, “Sullen Days” and “Beginning of Sorrow”.

—Originally written for www.globaldomination.com