Review Summary: Suffocation has been around for a long time. If "Blood Oath" indicates anything, it's that they've still got it, and are as on top of their game as they were back in '89.
A lot of "core" bands like to throw the term brutal around today. And the sad thing is, most people accept it as just that. Since when were bands like Escape the Fate, Vanna, August Burns Red, even Suicide Silence considered brutal? The answer is: around 1998 when Suffocation broke up and tight pants and whining about ex-girlfriends became the new standard for brutal. Anyone who has listened to a Suffocation album knows what brutal music really is. After re-forming in 2002 and releasing two more albums, Suffocation is poised to release their sixth studio album, Blood Oath.
Blood Oath is everything about metal that can possibly be extreme. The growls and screams are top notch. The guitars chug along without being repetitive and predictable, and the solos shred. The drums pound in the background and provide the backbone to the entire sound. Even the bass is audible at times. After finishing this album, I was surprised at how much i enjoyed it, given that i expected "just another metal CD." I couldn't have been more wrong.
The album wastes no time, kicking off with the title track, and the onslaught of chug chug guitars and double-bass drums blast out of the speakers and quickly Frank Mullen's guttural roar takes hold and doesn't let go until the end of the album. All the songs here are standard fare for extreme metal, but there are things that keep Blood Oath from being the aforementioned "just another metal CD." The guitar work isn't extremely technical, but is varied and complicated within its genre. Enough so the the Suicide Silence guitarists wouldn't be able to play a single riff, most likely. The solos are also nothing earth-shattering, but are very well done and provide some breathing room in between Mullen's vocal onslaught.
Mullen also is a contributing factor to why this album is just so badass. He has one of the most visceral, raw, powerful screams in all of metal, and you can tell he really puts his all into this album. Don't believe me? Go to their myspace page and look at his picture under "Band Members." That face just says "I'm metal as ***." Another plus is, oftentimes, you can discern what he is saying, which is a rarity in all metal/core genres.
To do a track by track would be senseless, as they all follow the essential same formula, but like I said, the songs all have unique aspects and nuances. The title track is one of the best, and the closer, which is a re-recording of an older song, prove to be the indisputable highlights, though there's no filler to be found here.
If today's options just don't offer up anything to your liking, and you've heard one too many tight-panted, eyeliner covered scenesters proclaim that their new album will be the most brutal thing ever, only to be treated to twelve tracks off chug-chug-WEEEE with digitally enhanced screams, well then, pick up Blood Oath and prepare for some extreme metal.
Recommended tracks:
Blood Oath
Dismal Dream
Martial Decimation
Cataclysmic Purification
