Rating: 8.4

Country: USA

Release Date: 2004

Track list:
1. Deceit
2. To Weep Once More
3. Souls To Deny
4. Surgery of Impalement [MP3]
5. Demise of The Clone
6. Subconsciously Enslaved
7. Immortally Condemned
8. Tomes of Acrimony

Total playing time: 38:20

Band Website: Suffocation

Suffocation - Souls To Deny

Frank Mullen – Vocals
Mike Smith – Drums
Terrance Hobbs – Guitar
Guy Marchais - Guitar

Frankly, I didn't cream my pants in anticipation of the much-hyped comeback of Suffocation mainly because of these 3 reasons–

1) Most reunions/comeback albums carry loads of hype but they're ass.
2) Line-up changes: Former Pyrexia and Internal Bleeding guitarist Guy Marchais replacing the mighty Doug Cerrito and the return of drummer Mike Smith who was out of action for around a decade).
3) In their absence of over 5 years, tons of Suffocation clones have spawned like sores all over your body which would mean that they would have to come up with something really special to outdo their clones and make their presence felt.

So do these forerunners of brutal death metal manage to blow us away with an absolutely devastating, ball-squeezing masterpiece everybody was awaiting?

Not quite, but with 'Souls To Deny' they do indeed deliver and somehow manage to prove their worth. No, they haven't created another 'Effigy of the Forgotten' and if you were stupid enough to expect that then yes, you will be disappointed. This one is more likely to appeal fans of 'Pierced From Within' cause mainly that's what you would find on this album. I wouldn't say that the song writing is better but let me tell you that comparatively it is fresher and progressive with more melody and dynamism. Don't jump to conclusions yet, the music is still essentially Suffocation and to be more specific, it sounds like the latter half of 'Breeding The Spawn' and 'Pierced From Within' - with mostly mid-paced plodding songs that are tight as a male stripper's ass at a gay bar (please don't ask me how I know that), shitloads of colorful tempo changes, technical but not annoyingly over the top riffs, neat twangy bass playing complete with trademark breakdowns and fitting leads.

They are certainly not trying to exhibit their brutalness here but instead smartly concentrate on their strongest area: that's good solid songwriting, something which today's brutal death metal bands severely lack and it gives me immense pleasure to say that with that they slaughter 90% of their useless clones on the spot. I was happy to hear some well-executed and well-placed solos which add some feel and life in this album. Check out the song "Subconsciously Enslaved" if you want to know what I mean, which also happens to be one of the best songs of the album. Strangely though, the starting few songs of the album are the weakest and for me the album peaks in the middle with songs like "Surgery Of Impalement", "Subconsciously Enslaved" and "Immortally Condemned".

Frank Mullen's vocals here are raw and hoarse similar to the ones on 'Breeding The Spawn' but more forceful and stubborn. They may take a while to get used to as they are relatively higher in the mix and given his style of delivery here thats - proudly growling out each word at a time type. Guy Marchais had a huge responsibility to fill the boots of Doug Cerrito and I'm relieved to say that he does it just fine. Mike Smith has shown us that even after years of absence, he's still loves his drum kit. It could've done with a better sound really as I find the drums lower in the mix and less effective than I would've liked (blame 'Pierced From Within' for setting the standard). The production here thats slightly unrefined and imbalanced sounds a bit hurried and I guess with more time the music could've benefited. The album has its share of weak songs but the better ones make up for it and might even make your day.

Suffocation's 'Souls To Deny' won't exactly blow you through the wall into your neighbour's lap but its a worthy comeback album and you have every right to spend your hard earned or stolen money on it. I didn't have high expectations from it so I for one am fairly pleased with this.

Like it or not, Suffocation are back.

March 7th, 2005