Souls to Deny

Souls to Deny marks the return of the legendary Suffocation, six years after the disaster that was Despise the Sun, which marked the split of the band due to whatever personal reasons and mismanagement. The band not only almost returned to their original form, delivering yet another quality record, but the lineup is almost as the one that dates all the way back to the Reincremated days in 1990. While Josh Barohn (the original bassist) was in the talks of reforming the band at its original form, both parties (the band and him) couldn’t come to terms. And so, by not being able to reunite with the original bassist anymore, let alone hiring a new one, the band was empty-handed without a bassist. Both Mike & Terrance had to jump in and record the bass. Additionally, Guy Marchais, the guitarist from another two brutalities in Pyrexia and Internal Bleeding joined the band. At the end of the day, they recruited one Derek Boyer, the Californian bassist from Decrepit Birth and Deprecated, after they released this record.

As the guys reformed and put themselves on a proper path again, Souls to Deny reintroduced the good old brutality we all know and love, adhesive technicality, catchy melodies and prominent pitch harmonics, along with Mike’s rapid blast beats and Frank’s death growls of greatness. Nothing to comment about the bass since I believe by not being able to recruit any other bassists, Mike & Terrance played the bass in the simplest way possible without anything fancy for the purpose of just recording a new record and putting themselves back in business.

I like how the record begins with the ending of Tomes of Acrimony and initially strikes with Deceit, the opener; like it’s on an endless, repeating cycle. The opening song starts off with strong and consistent blast beats and prompt cymbals, along with the groovy guitar riffs. The choruses are pretty melodic; both instrumentally and vocally, and the bridge unleashes Frank’s growls of devastation. The title track begins with people’s souls being denied, screaming in agony as Frank commemorates his death growls in various ways; growling the title track words, along with horrific background music. As the actual song starts, it’s repeating the same lyrics and music except for the bridge that is different. Other than that, it’s a pretty long and heavy song. The music video and/or the only single, Surgery of Impalement presents more technicality, amazing guitar solo, and even stronger blast beats. The bridge shoots out immense pitch harmonics as the music slows down a bit. Demise of the Clone is an all-around astounding song, it’s self-explanatory. And finally, my favorite song, Tomes of Acrimony - that’s the fucking shit right there! Just listen to it…

Much like Breeding the Spawn, I’m not sure if the guys ever realized the true art and material they wrote in Souls to Deny, taking things to another philosophical level and once again growling about oneself in perspective but really more about corruption. Perhaps this record deemed as their most personal lyrically. I would say this is where the band matured when it comes to the production, more than Pierced from Within. I also might be in the strong minority, if I’m not the only one, but I believe this record offers more than said third record. Not to imply it’s bad because it’s a good and unbeatable release, and Souls to Deny may not even come close in comparison and impact. However, I think the record in question here simply offered more in the brutal and technical departments, as well as different musical substance and fresh ideas.

The songs I found the weakest: To Weep Once More sounds too simple and promotes an underwhelming listen, other than the powerful pitch harmonics. While Subconsciously Enslaved is probably the most melodic song, it’s not as heavy as the other ones. It’s groovier in some aspects and has the strongest bass, yet failed to deliver excitement and brutality others have. Immortally Condemned, the longest song; long and forgettable.

When I first tried the record, I honestly didn’t like it, by only liking Demise of the Clone. I never denied its full potential, and I guess now, writing this review, it grew on me a lot. I don’t know how many people liked Suffocation’s latter records in comparison to Souls to Deny, but I found this one to be the band’s best of the new millennia. Take my word for it, this record offers more in-depth, instrumentally and lyrically, in just only eight songs - more than most of the next four records combined. After this masterpiece, almost everything is a downgrade. The best songs are Deceit, the title track, Surgery of Impalement, Demise of the Clone, and the mightiness that is Tomes of Acrimony.