Suffocation - Effigy of the Forgotten
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Free Music Notes for Effigy of the Forgotten
Free Music Review: Hey, how bout getting a few lessons from Corey or Fred?
Hit: 1 Stars
Hey Suffocation, I think cookie monster wants his vocals back.. oh and by the way, how bout getting some vocal lessons from good singers like Kid Rock, Fred Durst, Corey Taylor, and James Hetfield's post Load stuff.Free Music Review: Death-grind tour de force
Hit: 5 Stars
One has to wonder just how many instruments Suffocation went through when recording their first full-length album, 1991's godly "Effigy of the Forgotten," almost two decades ago. Chances are, the number of picks, strings, fretboards, drums, and sticks were shredded, set ablaze, and pounded into splinters at the hands of this Long Island, New York-based quintet, it was in the neighborhood of a thousand. But whatever that number was, it was worth it, because the album turned out to be the band's breakthrough release, as well as an incredibly masterful and influential extreme metal landmark that would go on to inspire a whole new generation of bands.
"EotF" is a truly uncompromising, relentlessly smoldering, massively devastating, and, well, suffocating aural onslaught. It is as technical as death metal gets, and it is so fast and brutal that it also borders on grindcore. Every band member is at the top of his game here, but especially noteworthy mention goes to the guitar duo from hell: Terrance Hobbs and Doug Cerrito, who now undeniably deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as Slayer's Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman. Both axemen are equally amazing, and their playing is just flat-out mind-blowing in its sophistication, brilliance, talent, and perfection. They display their talents by unleashing an utterly insane, inventive, and crushing collage of excellent, savage, dizzingly intricate dogfight riffs, impossibly technical, airtight, smoke-inducing leads, and great solos. Meanwhile, Josh Barohn's good bass lines and Mike Smith's fabulously fast and impeccable drumming (i.e. almost constant blasting) combine to lay the foundation for the songs, and create an rock solid rhythm section, and vocalist Frank Mullen lays down one mean, powerful, from-the-gut (yet still intelligible) death-growl after another.
All of these nine songs follow the same structure, so initial listens might lead some to think the album is really repetitive and monotonous. But truth be told, there are many musical wrinkles, arrangement variations, and standout tracks to be found here. Opener "Liege of Interactivity" gets the ball rolling immediately; it launches out of the starting gate with an almost frighteningly fast, earth-scorching deluge of cracking, hyper-kinetic blast beats, killer, buzzsaw riffing. The tempo slows just a tad and adopts catchy, churning riffs about midway through, but after two glass-shattering solos kick in, the remainder of the song picks up right where it left off, and whooshes by at lightning-fast speed. The proceeding title cut is equally as blindingly fast as "Liege of Interactivity," and also has a noteworthy bass intro, a great, ascending and descending guitar solo (which actually has quite a bit of melody in it), and head-banging, mosh pit-ready breakdowns (which are tossed in only to make the next stretch even more breakneck). Following this, Suffocation take their foot off the accelerator just a little bit for "Infecting the Crypts," a slightly more mid-tempo piece with nice, grinding riffs and great, strong bass work throughout. (In fact, there is a part in this song where the guitars drop off, and the bassist competes one-on-one against Smith's pummeling blasts.)
Later on, "Habitual Infamy" is backed by thunderous rhythms and strategically-placed, perfectly-executed, stop-on-a-dime breakdowns; and the very appropriately titled "Mass Obliteration" sounds like Slayer on steroids - it tears the listener's head off with buzzsaw riffage, shredding solos, and catchy vocal patterns in the choruses. And elsewhere, "Involuntary Slaughter" boasts two solos (one careening, the other ripping); and set closer "Jesus Wept" features the album's best solos. Hobbs and Cerrito each get to lay down one technical, lengthy, wailing, soaring melodic solo apiece, and when combined together, they last the better part of a minute.
Finally, "Seeds of the Suffering" and "Reincremation" are two especially masterful riff-o-ramas, and they just might be the album's biggest highpoints (I saved the best for last!). Hobbs and Cerrito simply set their fretboards on fire, and they rocket these songs forward with tons and tons of maniacally complex, crunchy, blistering riffs that duel back and forth throughout the song, with each axeman fighting to get the lead. Needless to say, the guitar acrobatics heard on both of these songs is simply astounding. (The former is also of note for its fairly long and very mazey solo, and the latter for its neck snapping tempo changes, and quick drum solo.)
The bottom line? If there ever was an undeniably godly death-grind masterpiece (especially released in the 1990's), then this is it. "Effigy of the Forgotten" isn't recommended for the weak of heart, but it is absolutely essential for all metalheads worldwide.
Free Music Review: perfect, for what it is
Hit: 5 Stars
I mostly wanted to write this review because I noticed that a number of people were saying that poor drumming lowers the quality of this album. If you are thinking of buying this album, don't let those reviews scare you off. I think the drums are amazing and fit the music perfectly. It isn't all just straightforward thrashing or blastbeats, he throws in some tasty little variations with the bass drums, and overall it is far from being overly simple or boring. It is all rock-solid in terms of timing, and the way the drums were mixed on the album sound great. I just don't understand what the critics think would fit the music better. This isn't tech metal.
Anyway, if you're at all receptive to the sounds of death metal, this album ought to hook you in about 4 seconds of listening... one of my favorites for sure!!!
Free Music Review: Repetitive but still worth checking out for its all out assault
Hit: 3 Stars
The New York death metal scene during the late eighties and up until about '91 or '92 was basically comprised of five or six guys. In other words it didn't have the same scene that central and south Florida enjoyed during this time. And unlike fellow Immolation from Yonkers, Suffocation hadn't been around for that long before offering the 1990 "Reincremated" demo and the "Human Waste" EP. The fact that the band hadn't quite solidified their sound comes across in this record. Don't get me wrong it sounds incredibly professional and well rehearsed before the recorded fact (the sound/production quality is much improved compared to "Human Waste".) It's just that some of the repetition quickly becomes daunting.
From the first track, "Effigy" comes off as a brutal record with heavy guitars, a heavy yet inaudible bass, a vocalist with a range that matches the low end of the bass guitar, and drumming that's as simple as it can get. Frank Mullen's vocals aren't quite of the "cookie monster" variety. In fact, they're quite in their own dimension. I'd call these "constipation" vocals because it often sounds like Mullen is trying to pass a brick. Like the vocals or not, this style of vocal delivery is probably the second most copied style next to the "cookie monster" vocals. The bass is basically inaudible so doesn't deserve comment since I can't hear what is being playing. The drumming is about as one dimensional as drumming can get. Mike Smith's drumming consists of double time thrashing and medium paced blast beats (which contrary to popular belief are not difficult to play since all the limbs are doing the same thing.) The drums take down this album a notch. But the one gem to this album is the duo guitar work of Doug Cerrito and Terrance Hobbs. This is something that would get even better with later albums but what is showcased here is pretty good even if it isn't their best work.
The main problem here is this album ain't technical and there is little variance to the songs so only the amazing riffs begin to distinguish songs from each other. If you're new to Suffocation I'd start with "Pierced from Within" and work backwards. Otherwise this album is solid, mainly for it's guitar work and deserves to be listened to along with all the other early 90s Death Metal landmark releases.
Free Music Review: Will kill you and your annoying friends
Hit: 5 Stars
If anyone thinks that this is traditional, cookie-cutter style Florida death metal, prepare to be proven dead wrong. Downright jazzy at times, and more technical than a computer manual, these guys will eat you up and spit your bloody remains out onto a table, where a pack of ravens will come and peck at the leftovers.
I suggest starting with this, as it is my favorite, but dont forget Breeding the Spawn and Pierced from Within. And as always, this annihilates Six Feet Under.