### Suffocation: Blood oath

#### 05/10/09 || The Duff

Guess what, Sugarmuff? Suffocation have done it again. Considered by some as underwhelming since their reforming, I personally consider the band to still be an important force in the death metal world. “Souls to Deny” had tracks that leveled their classic phase, and the follow-up to said album, although not as memorable, was more of a killer record and heavier than anything they’d released post-“Effigy of the Forgotten”. This new one is more blunt, dirtier and more evil, really quite different in terms of Suffocation albums; if in the grand death metal scope the ideas aren’t fresh, the band at the very least is showing how riffs should be written, and to some extent songs arranged (for those getting too technical without the know-how on pulling it back once in a while), although the band foolhardily chose to ignore my recommendation in my review of the self-titled that they should mix things up as they did during their heyday.

Though as much as “Blood Oath” seems to twist and turn more than anything on the last two full-lengths, one can’t escape the feeling that Suffocation are trying to water down their style more-so; you can’t fault them for it, twenty plus years on the game and being awarded less recognition than up-and-coming bands that stole all their chops but probably don’t even know of the band’s existence, it’s a cold, unfair world, and so as long as the musicianship is über-tight, evil, crunchy and trademark heavy then I’m as happy as a neo-Nazi in Auschwitz, where the sun shines on your face every hour of every day. It is the breakdowns that are the most recognizably downplayed element on the newest material, as they just seem to be there for the sake of it as opposed to ripping off the listener’s gnads as in the past, quite ploddy in an impactful if only underwhelming manner. The faster riffs on the other hand have been crafted perfectly, a lot more potent and evil than what’s been experienced on pretty much everything else the band has released since reforming.

This album is more consistent than the self-titled, fuller, more varied and with less of a “repeating the formula” standard, but at the same time has a lower number of consistent tracks; no “Bind Torture Kill” or “Abomination Reborn” on this one, with the exception of “Cataclysmic Purification”. What strikes me is that in reviews of the album, the opener and “Dismal Dream” receive the most attention, and yet I get the feeling Suffocation know that the best tracks lie towards the end. Overall, the album is far more old-school, and the last handful of tracks boast a confidence that accompanied so many of the tracks from the glory years – there is a real nice feel to how the end of the album has been assembled. Then there’s the re-recording, which to be expected is a formidable reworking and fitting closure to what I can only claim to be an awesome disc.

The musicianship is incredible; Mike Smith is the highlight, as per usual, but many have claimed Derek Boyer to have stolen the show with some intricate, interweaving bass patterns that stand out above the regular “I’ll follow one of the guitarists” fare in brutal death metal as a means to thicken the sound. From a personal standpoint it is the former performance that shines as the most impressive, although Mike has been criticized on this album in particular of not trying anything new – shit do I care if it is played perfectly and heightens the variation within and re-playability of the music? Mike hasn’t softened with age, and is just as playful and versatile as he is relentless, everything performed with great stamina and steadiness. Frank Mullen is his usual guttural self, again put down for sounding tired, but I can’t pick up on it; there’s only one man in this world I want singing about my “sanneetee”, and rest assured the lyrics cover all the usual favourite topics when it comes to the band. You know the guitars are precise as all fuck, and so despite the simplistic breakdowns, Suffocation have released an album sounding once more at the top of their game.

- Information
- Released: 2009
- Label: Nuclear Blast
- Website: www.suffocation.us
- Band
- Frank Mullen: vocals
- Terrance Hobbs: guitar
- Guy Marchais: guitar
- Derek Boyer: bass
- Mike Smith: drums

- Tracklist
- 01. Blood Oath
- 02. Dismal Dream
- 03. Pray For Forgiveness
- 04. Images of Purgatory
- 05. Cataclysmic Purification
- 06. Mental Hemorrhage
- 07. Come Hell or High Priest
- 08. Undeserving
- 09. Provoking the Disturbed
- 10. Marital Decimation