It shouldn’t be this hard to write a Suffocation review, is what I tell myself. The truth is, the albums that are just okay are the hardest to write. I struggle so much that I am willing to give you my thesis up front, and then working backwards because the TL:DR on the album is all that I have. Hymns From the Apocrypha – a wonderful display of Death Metal English, as apocryphal hymns would be a much more straightforward way to make an album title out of this – is the album of a band that has craftsmanship and experience of multiple decades in the scene. Songwriting likely comes natural to the band. As careers go long and bands aim to have their career be sustainable, this is the album that bands like these make. The trademarks of the band are mostly intact. There are still the hairpin turns between fiddly, sewing-machine style single note riffs bordering on Technical Death Metal and barbaric, Hardcore inspired breakdowns and slams. Hymns From the Apocrypha is not medium for a lack of trying. The band seems to know that the best way to stay relevant in an aging scene is to deliver good work. The issue is that the album is not overwhelmingly passionate beyond that. I do not fault the band for this – everybody has families and obligations and everyone needs income to support existence in this capitalist hellscape of ours – but I struggle to remain invested.
I do not think age plays a part here and neither does talent. Suffocation as a band is as talented as a band can be. Given, the band lost a lot when Frank Mullen decided to pursue being an actor, gifting the world his performance as the Manhattan Mutilator in James Balsamo‘s Sexy Time. Mullen was an icon, much more than any of the other members could be. Yet, Mullen isn’t the most unique sounding vocalist in 2023 and it makes sense that the vocal performance of current vocalist Ricky Myers is noticeably different. While it is true that Myers has some accolades in his own right, as Disgorge is a classic act in the realm of Brutal Death Metal, it feels like the vocals are being artificially augmented in the recording stage, with some slight vocal pitching and subtle layering being utilized to improve the perceived barbarity of the vocal performance. There is nothing wrong with this, of course. I myself am no stranger to double and triple tracking vocals and using effects to heighten variety, but here, it feels like concessions are being made to a more modern sound and an audience that has become used to new levels of extremity. This goes beyond the production and does infuse some of the songwriting, as well. The songwriting is, as mentioned, purposeful and tight and there are sections where the band pulls it all together – like when the band basically drives the song against a wall to dive into an unexpected breakdown. Other times, it feels like they try to play with the new school. The slightly dissonant arpeggios that appear on some of the songs recall Blackened Death Metal and the current hotness that is Dissonant Death Metal. It speaks to the bands songwriting skills that they are able to tie it together and have all of these songs, ultimately, still be Brutal Death Metal songs. Unfortunately, in broadening their sound, the band sounds less like Suffocation and more like the many acts that came after.
Ultimately, there is no single issue that breaks the album. Hymns From the Apocrypha is fine and to a degree even enjoyable. Issues compound however, and I would lie if I said that the way I personally feel about the band did not inform how I feel about the choices being made. Pierced From Within is a masterpiece and most of the band’s material from the nineties is not far behind . Classic albums are untouchable, not being sullied by an album like this that feels like it was made out of need and obligation. But neither is there a need to claim the album is anything it is not.
