Suppression
The Sorrow Of Soul Through Flesh


4.5
superb

Review

by ScotchBonnet CONTRIBUTOR (31 Reviews)
June 13th, 2022 | 54 replies


Release Date: 2022 | Tracklist

Review Summary: Old school death metal worship with a modern flair

Formed in 2012, Suppression is a Chilean death metal band comprising members of thrash metal band Ripper. Following the release of their first EP “Repugnant Remains” in 2019, the band is back to assault the senses once again with their first full-length offering “The Sorrow of Soul Through Flesh” released by Unspeakable Axe Records. It displays a marked progression from the rough death metal of the aforementioned EP with distinct developments in songwriting, stylistic diversity and production. Firmly rooted in old school death metal, it shows an obvious influence from the brutality of “Consuming Impulse” era Pestilence combined with more convoluted structures, paying homage to the likes of Suffocation and Atheist. Suppression has done a great job of keeping this old school sound alive while successfully combining it with a range of influences from more modern styles of death metal and a mild progressive edge.

The material is highly technical but not to the point of qualifying as tech death proper. Thunderous, evil riffs dominate the soundscape supported by ocean-deep basslines, frenetic blast beats and wildly parched vocals. Ominous guitar solos are frequent, providing a melodic factor but conversely, hints of dissonance are present - the band have been conservative in this respect, avoiding taking the claustrophobic route of bands such as Ulcerate and Ad Nauseam. The jarring guitar and fluidity of the bass work on “Misunderstanding Reality” bring the album to its progressive peak without losing any of the sadistic heaviness. Deep grooves provide further diversity on “Unperpetual Misery” while album closer “Extortion Behaviours” showcases Suppression’s ability to mix mind-bending cacophony with more studious parts to great effect. The whole package is assisted by the excellent production of the legendary Colin Marston and as expected, the overall sound projected is incomprehensibly powerful and barbarically heavy while allowing all elements of the music to breathe organically and be heard with great clarity.

Despite a commendable performance from the entire band, the star of the show is undoubtedly Pablo Cortés who pulls of a phenomenal performance on fretless bass. His slick basslines provide a wonderfully rich texture throughout but shine through particularly when allowed to let loose on frequent bass-only breakdowns, swelling and contracting exuberantly, adding a touch of jazz influence to the affair. For the best examples, see the frenetic opener “Lifelessness”, the marginally slower “Oveerfeeding Gaps” or the atmospheric “Unwinding Harmonies”. Even though the overall musical style is drastically different, it’s a bass performance that reminds me of post-sludge band Intronaut’s masterpiece “Prehistoricisms” albeit in a less delicate fashion.

Any death metal fan can testify to the fact the genre has splintered into many diverse tangents since its birth in the 80s and with the help of the on-demand world in which we now reside, an overwhelming number of artists are releasing material. As such, it can prove difficult for bands to produce music which stands above that of their peers. It’s clear that Suppression deserve respect for having achieved this in an environment of such saturation.


Attribution:

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http://www.metalmusicarchives.com/review/the-sorrow-of-soul-through-flesh/764674



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user ratings (59)
3.8
excellent

Comments:Add a Comment 
BitterJalapenoJr
Contributing Reviewer
June 13th 2022


1187 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

Felt this beast was in need of a bit of attention. Hope I did it justice. Any pointers for improvement are most welcome.

pizzamachine
June 13th 2022


27749 Comments


Review is too short, it needs 60 more paragraphs.

Hyperion1001
Emeritus
June 14th 2022


27340 Comments


awesome album. Chile is kicken ass this year. that new mortify album is also great.

BitterJalapenoJr
Contributing Reviewer
June 14th 2022


1187 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

^Nice, will check it out.

botb
June 14th 2022


18598 Comments


Check the grind Suppression too, they smack

BitterJalapenoJr
Contributing Reviewer
June 14th 2022


1187 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

^will add to the list, thanks.

TheNotrap
Staff Reviewer
June 14th 2022


19076 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0 | Sound Off

Glad someone picked this up, awesome stuff. Best bass of 2022

BitterJalapenoJr
Contributing Reviewer
June 14th 2022


1187 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

I was expecting either yourself of Gnocchi to publish a review for this and when I didn't see one, I thought I'd give it a bash.

autosacrifice
June 15th 2022


139 Comments

Album Rating: 4.5

this album goes crazy. LOVE the production

BitterJalapenoJr
Contributing Reviewer
June 15th 2022


1187 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

^yeah it's a fucking intense album. More people need to hear it.

valtinho
June 15th 2022


36 Comments

Album Rating: 5.0

This is a very old-school sounding death metal band, and you could almost mistake the vocalist, Alejandro Cruz, for the refined vocals of Martin Van Drunen (Pestilence). I did not expect this from such a young band. This sounds ridiculously good and it is my top pick of 2022. Thank you very much. Get Dir En Grey out of there!

BitterJalapenoJr
Contributing Reviewer
June 15th 2022


1187 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

^Glad you like it. Not quite top pick for me but close. It's currently Aeviterne but we'll see what happens when Conjurer's Pathos comes out on the 1st of July.

JokineAugustus
June 15th 2022


10947 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

Nice to see this one reviewed.

EvoHavok
June 16th 2022


8090 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

Really good stuff.

BitterJalapenoJr
Contributing Reviewer
June 16th 2022


1187 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

Glad to see a marginal increase in the number of ratings on this one this week. Is there a minimum number of ratings an album needs to make it into the Sputnik chart lists?

pizzamachine
June 17th 2022


27749 Comments


I believe it’s 69

DungeonBoy
June 20th 2022


9974 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

This is one of the best death metal records I've heard this year

BitterJalapenoJr
Contributing Reviewer
June 20th 2022


1187 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

^Glad you got a kick out of it. Best bass I've heard in a long time.

botb
June 20th 2022


18598 Comments


This RULES. Big symbolic era death vibes

DDDeftoneDDD
July 4th 2022


22878 Comments


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