Suffocation
Blood Oath

Release Date: 2009 | Tracklist

Anyone familiar with Suffocation? You should be; the New York based band have been putting out some of the most prolific material for almost two decades! How can anyone forget the sheer brutality of Effigy of the Forgotten? Over fifteen years later the band released their self titled which was proven to be a serious accomplishment in what the band has to offer. Now with the release of Blood Oath, the pressure is on, because the quetion remained, could it live up to its previous release? possibly live up to such classics as Pierced From Within? Lets just say the offering of the album left me tattered and torn from start to finish.

My first inital listen left me stunned with satisfaction, the album was an instant click and had me at the edge of my seat beginning to end. Lets just say this was inital shock. A couple more listens it was still great but as the shock wore off there was no doubt that this was still a solid release. It does have alot of great moments but to me still stands as the album you put on if your in desperate need of a head bashing. Which leads me to the instrumentation, any fan of Suffocation knows that they never fail to hit you hard with blistering riffs and crushing technicality.

The album starts off with the title track, basically showcasing what the whole album has to offer. This isn't a bad thing at all because the track itself slays beyond brutality. Terrance and Guy present some great riffs, while Derek Boyer playing some of the sickest bass lines i've heard since Cryptopsy's None So Vile. The most noteable thing that stands out is the bass sound. The slapping blows delivered are easily perceived, and are vigorously noticeable throughout the album. The distinctness of the bass isn't the only thing what makes this album strong. Its the riffs and technicallity the guitarists have to offer. They have seem to distinguish their guitar playing because to me its heavier than ever. Not to mention the great solos that are present from start to finish. The overall guitar work is good.

What you may think is, why isn't this album superb or classic material? There is so much good things about this album, and seems to not have any cons. So why such an average rating? Well you see its because although the tracks are great it seems to grow repetive at times to the point you realize you realize you are still listening. For example say you are on track one, then all of sudden you realize a few tracks have gone by. This can either be an ultimate spine splitting release or an uninterested snoozefest. To me honestly can be a combination both. This does have potential to be one of stronger releases from the band, but can never live up to the genius of Effigy of the Forgotten or Peirced from Within.

Overall if you are in a desperate need of a great listen of brutality i would recommend this to you, for a few listens. If you are not familiar with the band, this should not be your first album. For the bands previous releases should satisfy you more.

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3.4 great

Rank: #0 for 2009