Suffocation is an American death metal band that was formed in 1989 in Long Island, New York. The band comprises vocalist Frank Mullen, guitarists Terrance Hobbs and Guy Marchais, drummer Mike Smith and bassist Derek Boyer. Suffocation rose to prominence of death metal and created a blueprint for the genre for the 1990s with their 1991 debut album Effigy of the Forgotten. Suffocation released six studio albums.
The band's raw death metal style uses guttural vocals with a downtuned guitar sound, fast complex guitar riffs and drumming, and a sophisticated sense of songwriting. Blabbermouth.net described Suffocation's style as "brutal death metal".
