DRAGO (9/10)

How does one prepare for the beat down that a new SUFFOCATION record brings?

Beyond guttural vocals - check
Incessant blast beats and double bass kicks that are mind-blowing - check
Guitar riffs and solos that are technical and complex - check

It just doesn't get any more brutal than their style of death metal. Taking death metal to a whole new level, SUFFOCATION was formed in Long Island, New York in 1988. They are one of the forefathers of extreme American death metal alongside MORBID ANGEL, OBITUARY and Deicide. SUFFOCATION is responsible for taking the original groundwork of death metal to a whole new excessive level. Their debut "Effigy Of The Forgotten" is a modern day classic; and for the last twenty years has been the blue print for the death metal genre.

Released through German's Nuclear Blast records SUFFOCATION are unleashing upon us their latest brain crushing album "Pinnacle Of Bedlam". It has been over four years since we have heard anything new from them. The album roars out of the gates with "Cycles Of Suffering", a blast beat driven technical frenzy. Founding vocalist Frank Mullen kicks things off coming right in with the music, virtually making you feel like you are already knee deep into the record with no warning of the brutality to come. Drummer Dave Culross makes his presence immediately known as his drumming is undeniable. This is his first album back with the band since 1998s "Despise The Sun" and it's a welcome addition.

One of the best attributes of SUFFOCATION is their technical riffs and amazing solos. It puts them at the top of the death metal genre after all these years. Terrance Hobba and Guy Marchais are intricate, multifaceted and mind blowing players. The leads in the annihilating "Purgatorial Punishment", "Eminent Wrath" and the title track "Pinnacle Of Bedlam" are some of the best of their career. They are absolutely the best part of this release.

Another amazing aspect of the record is the great job done in changing up the tempos. Not every song is 260 bpm the whole time. The number of guitar parts and changes in these 3 - 4 minute songs make each and every song interesting and easier to digest.

As usual, vocalist Frank Mullen is his guttural brutal self. He is maybe a tad less harsh than he is on earlier releases but for me it works with this batch of songs. They are now simply more evolved songwriters and Frank has done an admirable job of growing his style. It isn't a radical change but it is enough where he seems more in control of his devastating instrument.

The production on "Pinnacle Of Bedlam" is stunning. Bringing in Chris "Zeuss" Harris to handle the mixing and mastering does wonders for the SUFFOCATION sound. The guitars sound incredibly beefy. The listener can distinguish what the riffs being played actually are. With the technicality and speeds that Terrance and Guy play at, that is shocking. The sounds of the drums are the bright spot. The separation on Dave Culross' kit is astonishing for a death metal release. The sound of the kicks and the snare are incredible.

If you are a fan of SUFFOCATION I would pick this up instantly. It ranks up there with the best of their career. Even if you aren't a huge brutal death metal fan I think this release is perfect to get your feet wet. It is diverse enough musically to see the brilliance of this style of music. It just gets better with every listen and is already a top album of the year candidate.

ANGELA "THE HUNTER" (9/10)

4 long years fans have been waiting for SUFFOCATION to reveal it's next Metal masterpiece. I am happy to say, our wait is over.

"Pinnacle Of Bedlam"is SUFFOCATION's 7th full length album that proves a little break from the business can yield amazing results. Skull busting drums and vicious, growling vocals await you on every track. Add in Guy Marchais and Terrance Hobbs's perfectly balanced brutal riffs and intricate solos, not to mention Derek Boyer's rock solid bass work, and you have album that will not soon be forgotten. The album, as a whole, is intelligent, brutal, well recorded, and just interesting. Different modes, riffs, time signatures, key changes.. well done all the way around.

Highlight tracks for me were "Pinnacle Of Bedlam", "My Demise", and "Rapture Of My Revocation. Bottom" line, old and new fans alike will find themselves basking in the warm blood red glow of extreme metal once they hit the play button. As a rating, I'd say 9 outta 10.Until next time, stay well and live free friends!

SPYROS STASIS (8/10)

Well, SUFFOCATION, the masters of technical brutal Death Metal,return with a brand new album, second album with Nuclear Blast Records. First of all, it is quite obvious that the days of albums such as "Effigy of The Forgotten", "Breeding the Spawn" and "Pierced From Within" is behind the band at this time. They pretty much continue in the same path since the release of their 2004 comeback album, "Souls To Deny".

So what is new in "Pinnacle of Bedlam": firstly, longtime drummer Mike Smith has parted ways with the band and was replaced by Dave Culross (same thing happened when SUFFOCATION released "Pierced from Within") and also this is the first time that the band is collaborating with Zeuss (who has also worked with bands such as Shadows Fall, Soulfly and more) in the mixing and mastering process. That is probably why the album sounds more modern than the three previous releases of the band, the 2006 self-titled album and "Blood Oath" (2009). Some fans of the band might not like the modern sound of the production, personally I have no problem with it, I do not think that it is that far of from the last three albums.

I guess that the album will not disappoint if you are a fan of the band. "Pinnacle of Bedlam" has everything that made SUFFOCATION a great act. From extremely fast parts (the album starts with an unbelievable blastbeat in "Cycles of Suffering"), frantic tempo changes from aggressive parts to more groovy moments (listen to "My Demise" for example for a more slow tempo, really heavy song) and back to songs with an almost thrash like attitude like "As Grace Descends".

The musicianship of the band is as good as it has always been. From a thundering rhythm section, Culross and Boyer working great together, to unbelievable guitar work, on rhythm and lead parts, with very well performed solos (for example listen to the solos on "Purgatorial Punishment" and "Pinnacle of Bedlam"), then to haunting deep growling vocals (listen to halfway in "Inversion", the grand effect on the voice is unbelievable) and the band supernatural ability to keep a groove to their songs even if they are playing at a faster tempo (for instance they manage to retain the groove throughout "Eminent Wrath" which is one of the faster songs). It is the sort of music I would not recommend to someone that just started playing guitar, bass or drums because hearing a band like SUFFOCATION would probably discourage them to continue playing (it almost happened to me at some point), thinking they would never reach that level of technique. Just as a note the beginning of "Sullen Days" is really interesting with an effect over the clean bit making it feel sick and twisted, quite cool sounding.

Highlight of the album, in my opinion, is the closing track, "Beginning of Sorrow" (guest appearance of Mike Smith, longtime drummer of SUFFOCATION), which is probably one of their most old school moments since before they first disbanded after the "Despise the Sun" EP.

To give you a comparison with the other SUFFOCATION albums, I am not going to compare with the first three records but since their reunion, "Pinnacle of Bedlam" is, to me, better than "Souls To Deny" but I still prefer a bit more "Blood Oath" and "Suffocation".