Suffocate Bastard
Acts Of Contemporary Violence
5.5
As the sun shines down on a clear spring day, I skip along a golden brick path through a lush garden of life and vibrance. Thriving greens push upward and flutter in the brisk breeze. Whistling an Arch Enemy melody, I trot to the water's edge of a babbling brook, where parched butterflies quench their thirsts. Curious insects glide in to see who has joined in their celebration of beautiful climate and fertile environment. Large willows rustle overhead as the sun peeks through into the shade and reflects off the crystal clear water. A bluebird lands softly at my side as it sings a Soilwork song. As I study the delicate way nature has eroded the colorful stones in the sparkling creek, I pop a sweet tart into my mouth and think aloud "How could this get any better?". As my thought comes to a close, a plastic square interrupts my shiny thoughts and hits me in the back of the head. I turn to see a compact disc case lying on the green grass. It says "Suffocate Bastard". My question had been answered. It just got much, much better...
Suffocate Bastard isn't concerned with painting a picture of shopping at Sam Goody in the mall and sitting down in the food court with your slice of Sbarro's and fruit smoothie. Rather, they project the same image as Visceral Bleeding, Gorgasm, and a less melody oriented Neuraxis: a vortex of violence and dark complexities. But as welcome of a change as it is, their apparent lack of song identities starts taking a hefty toll midway through the album.
Production:
The sound is powerful and balanced, with a good natural punch in the kick drum. There's a lot of guitar breaks (where the guitar is the only instrument being played) and I am happy to say it is free of any crackling. A very smooth and professional sound is at hand.
Songwriting:
I think this is where Suffocate Bastard needs to develop...a lot further. Although the musicianship is as tight as my cat's anoos, it sounds like the same 3 songs over and over, and it's quite formulaic. The works all have the crucial elements of quality brutal death, such as squealing pinch harmonics, chunky slowdowns, and the almighty blast beat as the "old faithful" percussive backbone, but what's lacking is a defining feel for each song. I have listened to this about a dozen times and I still can't distinguish "In Decadence the Scum was Born" from "Welcome to My Tomb of Immortal Pain". Nearly identical structure and formula for every song.
Musicianship:
As already mentioned, it's airtight. Being solid at a speed like this is not easy, and deserves recognition. But at the "is this still the same song?" level of song recognition, you may start to lose your appreciation for it by the time "The Rats are Gathering in the Cradle of Hypocrisy" rolls around.
Summary:
Very nicely executed German brutal death here with an obvious mastery of the trade, but good luck making it all the way through without stopping due to excessive redundancy in the way this band crafts their work.
