UMUR
"Suffocation" is the self-titled 5th full-length studio album (and the 2nd album since their comeback with "Souls to Deny (2004)") by US death metal act Suffocation. The album was released through Relapse Records in September 2006.
The band have chosen to produce the album themselves which has resulted in a slightly less brutal sound compared to "Souls to Deny (2004)". Of course Suffocation have always belonged to the most brutal part of the death metal genre, so even though the sound on this album is slightly less brutal than on the predecessor, the general sound of the music haven´t changed much. Technically well played brutal death metal designed to kill. Frank Mullen still sounds like he has just risen from the grave with his commanding deep growls and the instrumental part of the music is as usual delivered with militant precision and attention to detail (breaks, tempo changes...etc.). Variation is a word seldom used when describing a Suffocation album and the same applies here. The tracks are pretty hard to tell apart even after many spins, but patience is rewarded. Personally I love the old school sound of a track like "Entrails of You" but there are several great tracks on the album.
While "Suffocation" is overall a quality death metal album, I do think it´s a step down from the last three releases, which I feel are their best output. Less will do this time around and I still think a 3.5 - 4 star rating (75%) is warranted.