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SUFFOCATION – BLOOD OATH
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SUFFOCATION – BLOOD OATH
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Bacteria13
Hatross Overlord
Joined: 30 Jan 2003
Posts: 2465
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 Posted: Thu Aug 13, 2009 6:30 pm Post subject: SUFFOCATION – BLOOD OATH |
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SUFFOCATION – BLOOD OATH
(Nuclear Blast)
New York’s death metal masters have received quite a bit of flak for this, their sixth studio album and first for Nuclear Blast (a label which seems to be signing up all the major DM bands out there - Vader, Immolation, Melechesh & Nile to name but a few). The common complaint seems to be that they’ve lost their ‘brutality’, swapping their renowned battering for technical wankery. There is some truth to this, as Blood Oath is not the Suffocation of old, nor even coming close to their previously crushing self-titled album.
Perhaps the problem lies in the production; BO sounds a tad muffled, to be honest, and though the musicianship is not in doubt (and never will be – dear God, can these guys play!) it’s not as in-your-face as previous albums. In fact, the more I play BO I can’t help but feel that Suffocation is holding back. I could be wrong, but they do want that Slipknot support reeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaal bad …
Astute listeners will hear a touch of Prog seeping into this album. The opening title track, for example, has dollops of Coroner here and there – very un-Suffocation indeed. Yet this aside it’s not a bad record by any means - the insane riff near the end of Mental Haemorrhage, an absolutely crushing riff, is a triumphant call to the old school, but a pity that there aren’t many like it here.
2009 has been and will continue to be a monster year for extreme metal albums. Already we’ve seen the likes of Behemoth and Obituary release top-of-their-game albums, and with Nile and Slayer waiting in the wings (um, Megadeth, too) Suffocation needed a record that would stick out from the pack like a freshly hacked thumb.
Unfortunately, Blood Oath is not that album.
Bacteria13.
http://www.myspace.com/suffocation |
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yuri
Who'sGOD Who'sDOG?
Joined: 04 Feb 2000
Posts: 5300
Location: South of Voivodland
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| Posted: Fri Aug 21, 2009 11:25 am Post subject: |
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Great review Mr. Bacteria
Here is another interesting review from Pitchfork
http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/13331-blood-oath/
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yuri
Who'sGOD Who'sDOG?
Joined: 04 Feb 2000
Posts: 5300
Location: South of Voivodland
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