Review Summary: The album that would introduce a different sound from the band after Pierced From Within, but oddly enough manages to be one of the best in their Discography.
The year is 1998, Suffocation have already released 1 Ep, and 3 albums. Judging from the sound of those releases, Its clear why Suffocation are the innovators of brutal death metal in general, and have established a name for themselves to where bands from different regions are "plagiarising" their sound, which proves why they are truly a brand in death metal in itself.
With that being said, the 5 songs on here are amazing, and clock in around 16 minutes, but hell the listening experience is sure worth it. This is their last release for a while after they broke up so this would be considered as a filler for me in between "Pierced From Within", and their long hiatus.
The Ep's sound is great. The mix, and production is great you can hear no distortions of any kind. The bass is very audible throughout the album, and adds some punchy flavor to each of the songs. Guitar work is crisp as ever, and follows the same intricate path as "Pierced From Within" did. The vocals really show Frank Mullen's true vocal ability, and potential to where he literally sounds like the pissed off version of the cookie monster in almost every track. Not to mention, he's more coherent here then his predecessors so its easy to tell what he says without having to read the lyrics. The drums however, don't have that Mike Smith tangible feel i would generally hear in albums such as "Effigy of the Forgotten" or "Breeding the Spawn". Dave Culross can't touch Mike Smith's "sound" that makes Suffocations sound so brutal. One things for certain though, his drumming manages to fit perfect with the bands sound with his blast beats, drum fills, odd timings, double bass, and slow tempo breakdowns. The atmosphere the sound on "Despise the sun" creates is great thanks to these talented musicians
The overall verdict is that this Ep is great. It has that typical Suffocation sound you would expect to hear except this album makes me feel like I'm listening to a deathcore album. Wait did I just said that? Well this wasn't intentionally supposed to be done that way, but its clear to me that starting with this release, Suffocation are not only the innovators of brutal/slam metal, but also deathcore along with "Dying Fetus". You can hear the influence it has on the genre from the slow tempo breakdown in "Funeral Inception", which has that typical deathcore breakdown you'd hear in today's standards.
This would be a perfect rating, but the fact that there aren't enough songs to ascend it is the reason, but other then that this release is probably the best in their discography along with their debut.
This is my first ever review as well so criticism and either positive/negative feedback is welcome as well as i will most likely be taking a lot of advice from you guys to make my next review a bit better.
Eye candy tracks: "Funeral Inception", "Devoid of Truth", and "Catatonia"
