CD Review: Suffocation – Blood Oath
June 15th, 2009 Filed under: Reviews - Music by admin
CD Review- Suffocation
Blood Oath
Nuclear Blast
Currently co-headlining the North American portion of the Summer Slaughter tour, Suffocation have been giving fans a live sneak peak of what to expect from their upcoming release Blood Oath. This album is a great follow-up to their 2006 self-titled release, as they shed the melodic aspects of the previous while maintaining the brutal technicality that they have honed over the last 20 years. Although not a groundbreaking album for the band, Blood Oath is a worthy addition to their discography; that alone secures it as a stand-out contribution to the pile of 2009 death metal releases.
The self-titled track kicks off the album. Featuring a death-metal, swing-style (you mean big band swing? – Ed) main riff which immediately highlights drummer Mike Smith’s insane precision and control, this track gets your attention right from the start. Although utilizing a relatively slow tempo, this song compensates for the lack of speed with the guitars’ colossal sounding main riff and Smith’s relentless double-kicks. Following “Blood Oath” is “Dismal Dream”, arguably one of the best songs on the album. Frank Mullen wastes no time in foreshadowing the chorus within the verse, but holds back just enough so that when the actual chorus kicks in both his vocals and the instruments sound absolutely diabolical. Why this song hasn’t been chosen as the single is beyond me.
Available in stores July 14th, Blood Oath is sure to rank among the strongest death metal releases of 2009. Although some of the later tracks lack the character and distinctiveness of “Blood Oath” and “Dismal Dream”, the album as a whole stands up to repeated plays and maintains intensity all the way through.
By Alxs Ness
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