This has probably been the hardest review I have ever done for Moshville Times and I have never listened to an album before I write the review, as much as I have with Suffocation’s Of the Dark Light. Suffocation is a band that I have known from the beginning of the death metal boom. When I heard Effigy of the Forgotten for the first time, I was completely blown away by the supreme technicality of their sound that was deafening in its extremity, making my ears bleed.
That was 1991/2 and to this day, there is a plethora of bands who owe their existence to the band Suffocation. However, for me, Suffocation are a bit like AC/DC. I mean that they always release good albums but every album has always got a couple of stand out tracks on it. Suffocation, as would AC/DC have one hell of a best of album, so how does this album compare with their extensive back catalogue. Are they still setting the bar for all the other tech death bands to follow? To a certain extent, yes!
After such a turbulent career, numerous line up changes, reformations and line up changes when on tour, it has taken Suffocation four years to release a follow up to the critically acclaimed Pinnacle of Bedlam. I really liked Pinnacle and this album would be a tough one to follow. It must be hard for a band like Suffocation who started a whole genre of music to keep that level of performance with every record, the pressure must be intense for them to be at the peak of their game. But with this release, I cant help but feel that Suffocation are now looking to these bands for inspiration rather than sticking to their formula that has worked for them for so many years. At the end of the day though, I still like it and have Of the Dark Light on repeat listens and here is why.
“Clarity through Depravation” starts the album off with no intro, no opening melodies or samples of a film. It’s straight into blast beats courtesy of Eric Morotti and intense speed riffs of Terence Hobbs and newcomer Charles Errigo. As the song progresses, you get multiple time changes, breakdowns and technical infused death metal which I welcomed. The sound of the album courtesy of Joe Cincotta’s Full Force Studios is crystal clear and couldn’t be more the opposite of their early recordings at Morrisound studios. The guitars and bass are crystal clear while the drums, although triggered, you can hear every cymbal that Eric hits. Frank’s vocals are still extreme and you wonder how he has done this for nearly thirty years, especially with the band now touring more since 2004’s Souls to Deny. The sound is very brutal, and even with the deathcore breakdowns, I was happy with the way this album started.
“The Warmth within the Dark” comes up next and this is probably the best song on the album, mainly due to the riff, double bass and Frank’s vocals between minutes one and two just being astounding. Terrence and Charles shred like there is no tomorrow and play at relentless speed. However, this riff is slowed down and the heaviness is emphasised through the speakers which has to get any metal heads banging. So far, I have been really impressed with the album.
This is when it starts to change a bit as the opening riff of next track; “Your Last Breaths” could be heard on a Gojira album, before all hell breaks loose with relentless blasts, frantic double bass and Terrence, as with the opening track, whamming his solos adding a new dimension to the Suffocation sound. Some of the best riffs on the album are in this track and the song transcends into a chugging riff to end the song.
Next song of note is the title track, where the breakdowns make another appearance and Frank’s vocals shine through over the thumping double bass – sure to set the pits going in any Suffocation show. Suffocation were known to start the breakdown movement to such an extent that now when bands do breakdowns, the effect is much more limited than it was before. However, Suffocation still has the maximum effect of breakdowns as they use them sparingly, such as on this track and the first track in particular.
The last song, a working of the Breeding the Spawn track “Epitaph of the Credulous”, is a fitting way to end the album, carrying on from the theme of the last couple of albums of reminding everyone where Suffocation came from. “Prelude to Repulsion” on the self titled album, “Marital Decimation” on Blood Oath and “Beginning of Sorrow” on Pinnacle of Bedlam show how the sound, although equally as brutal, has changed since their inception. Suffocation have been plying their trade almost three decades now and rather than try and reinvent the wheel for hundreds of other bands to follow, they have used the tried and tested formula as they have done throughout their careers.
Suffocation have released classic death metal albums throughout their history and it is extremely hard for a godfather of the scene to maintain their throne at the forefront of the brutal and technical death metal scene after all these years. No one dare say that Suffocation are no longer kings of their genre, not after the legacy they have left to the scene. However, there are so many of the godfathers of the scene that have moved on and no longer release albums that they did at the beginning of their career. The ground breaking albums of these bands have long gone and I am afraid that I also believe that the best days of Suffocation are behind them.
That said, they still are releasing damn fine albums and play cracking live shows. I urge you all to give this a listen a number of times before you judgement as there is plenty of stunning musicianship on show here, and the newer have settled right into the band. See you on tour!!!
Of the Dark Light is out now
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