Well, four years have passed since the release of ‘Blood Oath’ but it doesn’t sounds as if the guys have planned on mellowing out any time soon. The album also marks the return of drummer Dave Culross, who played with the band previously on their ‘Despise The Sun’ EP while founding member and former drummer Mike Smith also makes a special guest appearance on the re-recorded ‘Breeding the Spawn’ (which amazingly came out 20 years ago now!) track, “Beginning of Sorrow.” Here we have ten songs of sheer brutality that put bands half their age to shame, how do they keep delivering the goods after so long?
This is solid death metal, something that can be played at full blast knowing that there is nothing here that will disappoint. While the band produced the album, it was mixed and mastered by Zeuss (Hatebreed, Arsis, Suicide Silence etc) and the sound reminds me of the touch of Colin Richardson. The guys have been doing this since 1989 (with the odd rest and line-up change inbetween), and long may it continue. Instantly recognizable as Suffocation they have mixed it up a bit and have brought their material more into the present day, and the album benefits from that approach. This is not one you can really miss out on.
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