Suffocation

It was only 2 years since Suffocation released 'Soul to Deny', and Suffocation already release in 2006 another Full Lenght, simply 'Suffocation'. And I was more than just curious what it would sound like, and I just didn't know what to expect. 'Souls to Deny' kinda disappointed me, there was actually no Brutal Death Metal in the sound of Suffocation anymore, and except for a few songs, the record was just a good Death Metal release, not like the previous Suffocation releases, being milestones in the history of Brutal and Technical Death Metal - 'Effigy of the Forgotten', 'Pierced From Within and 'Despise the Sun'. Those all were the releases which made Suffocation kings of the scene, and 'Souls to Deny' was a step back. So it happened to be that 'Suffocation' was one of the most expected releases in years; every new information about the release, the cover, and the songs was gold worth, and pre-orders just jumped from 1 to 100.000.

And then came the day Suffocation was about to seal the fate. For most fans of Suffocation this is a great release, not missing anything they had expected, but to me it misses the actual "Suffocation". To be dead-fucking-honest - this release doesn't move any of my limbs as the previous did; this release doesn't generate a world of musical carnage and surgery as the once before; and this release doesn't bring me to bang my head to it and growl the lyrics. No, this release is far away from a real Suffocation opus. This is a good, better than mediocre release in Death Metal, but Suffocation have spent too much time being away from the scen, and this has reflected on their music as well.

Like I used to enjoy in the prelude of "Torn Into Enthrallment", there is no joy in the prelude of "Redemption" on 'Suffocation'. Most of the songs seem to remind me of other band's songs, like I heard it all before, and it never stops. The most recent Suffocation release is though a good, more than just mediocre Death Metal release, in a sea of Death Metal releases, this one is among the ones who will be remembered, but among a handfull of great releases, Suffocation's 'Suffocation' won't be. The release lacks any groundbreaking innovations, chords, ideas or just the spirit of a great release. I know I can't expect them to do only great records, release after release, but then they should call it a day, and do as some great bands did - just leave the scene as long as they are still one of the best bands. But it might be due to the record label - Relapse being one of those who have mostly sellings in mind, not the quality of the music.