Review by UnhinderedbyTalent for Suffocation - Suffocation (2006)

For all the influence and respect that Suffocation (rightfully) receive across the extreme metal community, their game plan is not particularly a difficult one to follow.  With the talent in the band it seems almost effortless for them to take the depths of brutality and the fast flowing torrents of technicality and combine them into this vicious and yet measured assault that I have come to enjoy over the years.  Whether it is the frenzied attack of the debut album some fifteen years before this or the tangible and tactile structures of Pierced From Within or Effigy of the Forgotten, the band have medals of honour littered throughout their discography.  Yet, at the same time they have "the rest of their discography". The likes of Despise the Sun, Blood Oath and indeed this month's feature release never get anywhere near the same levels of rotation as the aforementioned releases do.  Within minutes of listening to the self-titled it is clear that this most certainly is not Pierced from Within, but then again I would not want it to be in all honesty.  Despite not living up to that standard, Suffocation is by no means a bad or even mediocre death metal album.

The album feels restrained in its delivery yes, but by no means is this at the expense of entertainment and most certainly is not Suffocation going soft.  Instead, the record feels like it is simply exploring all the good parts of the bands sound in glorious detail.  By varying the pace across the record, the band create a celebration of themselves.  They leave themselves completely exposed in some regards but the quality of the song writing is so high that there is little to no threat here for them.  Tracks like Bind Torture Kill explore the full gamut of their range and you can hear the old school roots of their existence shining through very clearly.  As we have come to expect, Hobbs' guitar laying is nothing short of exemplary and original guitarist Guy Marchais supports well also.  Mullen, of course, can do no wrong as we already know and puts in a consistent and entertaining performance throughout with his clear yet still inherently extreme vocals providing their grim and scathing attack as always.

I feel like there are times when the drums of Mike Smith get a bit of a poor representation in the mix (opening track Oblivion springs to mind as being a noticeable point of this issue for me) but there is still enough weight to them to make them an integral part of the overall experience.  With so much quality on show, I guess mixing the record to let all parts shine is a challenge I personally would not want to take on so Joe Cincotta has my sympathy on this.  But there is nothing here to take away from this self-homage that Suffocation create on a record that needs a lot more attention from me than it has had to date.  Bangers like Entrails of You are evidence that there is more than just shock value to the content of Suffocation, their brand of extremity has thought and feel behind it.