Hey everyone!

Before writing this review, I sat down and listened to every album from this band start to finish, and “Pierced From Within” stood out as the album that made me feel like I was on a battlefield. Even though “Effigy of the Forgotten” and “Breeding the Spawn” left me a bit confused, I gave “Pierced From Within” one last listen with headphones before deciding to write about it. It’s pure chaos, but in the end, chaos has its own order. Anyway, moving on. This album features amazing guitars, phenomenal drums, gritty vocals (in a good way), and a “filthy” bass that is just delicious.

So here’s the deal: this is the last album featuring guitarist Doug Cerrito and bassist Chris Richards, and the only one with drummer Doug Bohn. Producer Scott Burns also made his mark on this album with mixing and mastering done by Mike Fuller. Just a few tidbits for the curious.

If you ask me, the bass guitar is the standout element on this album, especially in “Depths of Depravity.” It feels like they’ve gone to hell and back. They’ve taken the blast beat trope that you often hear in other bands or tracks of this genre (and yes, it’s there, just not overwhelmingly so) and thrown it far away.

Now onto the drums. I’ve been praising the bass guitar all morning, but I can’t overlook the drumming. I think my headphones are well-suited for this type of music, and if you listen to this album with a decent pair of headphones, you’ll feel the impressive synergy between Richards and Bohn. Bohn really pounds those drums well.

I already touched on the guitar aspect above. The entire album is full of killer riffs. This 45-minute and 26-second adventure hits the listener like a slap in the face. Both Cerrito and Terrance Hobbs, from the perspective of someone who doesn’t play guitar, have nailed it with a reliable sound. I must also mention that my favorite solos in the death metal genre have always been from “Obituary,” but there are some noteworthy performances here too. The solos in tracks like “Thrones of Blood” and “Synthetically Revived” are quite satisfying, with lots of tremolo and flair.

I didn’t really form a strong opinion on the vocals during my listen. In the sense that I didn’t notice anything too different from other death metal/technical death metal tracks I’ve heard. However, I wasn’t bothered by them either. I love gloomy atmospheres, and I felt that in “Torn Into Enthrallment,” which has my favorite intro on the album. The rest of the song’s vocals felt better to me for this reason. Simply put, the vocal performance is clear and very well-executed.

“Suffocation” is a band I discovered midway through my metal music journey, to be honest. This review has brought me back into their world. I’ve always been more of an “old school” fan and leaned heavily towards thrash metal. Sometimes you can get caught up in a genre you’re listening to. I practically lived thrash metal for a while. As a result, it took me some time to discover and appreciate certain things, and I’m glad “Suffocation” wasn’t one of those things I missed out on.

So let’s wrap this up. This band will be performing on May 16, 2023, at IF Performance Beşiktaş. For those who might not know, the lineup for the show will be different from the musicians on this album. Terrance Hobbs is still on lead guitar, but instead of Richards, we have Derek Boyer on bass guitar, Charlie Errigo on rhythm guitar, Eric Morotti on drums, and Ricky Myers on vocals. That is, assuming everything goes as planned. That’s all from me. Thanks to everyone who read this!

Stay metal!