SUFFOCATION — Pierced From Within (review)

SUFFOCATION — Pierced From Within album cover

Album · 1995 · Brutal Death Metal

4.5/5 · 2016-05-17
UMUR

"Pierced from Within" is the 3rd full-length studio album by US, New York based death metal act Suffocation. The album was released through Roadrunner Records in May 1995. The receptions from fans and critics alike, regarding the band´s 2nd full-length studio album "Breeding the Spawn (1993)", generally weren´t that positive, mainly due to what many consider a weak sounding production. Roadrunner Records refused to pay for studio time in Morrisound Studios with producer Scott Burns (which was the band´s primary choice), and as a result there was a lot of turmoil surrounding the recording of that album. Turmoil that is reported to be one of the main reasons why drummer Mike Smith left Suffocation shortly after the release of "Breeding the Spawn (1993)".

In a strange turn of events Roadrunner Records allowed Suffocation to record "Pierced from Within" at Morrisound Studios with producer Scott Burns (although at the time the label were in the process of effecively getting rid of all their death metal artists), which resulted in one of the better death metal productions to come out of Morrisound Studios. The sound is thick, dark, and brutal yet all instruments are easily heard in the mix. It´s not often you notice the bass on death metal albums but here it is just right in the mix and you can clearly hear it.

The music on the album is brutal and technically well played death metal. The vocals are extremely brutal growling, but as it was also the case on "Breeding the Spawn (1993)", you´re actually able to catch words and phrases which make the vocal part of the album very effective. There are some really impressive precision playing on the album too and the tracks vary in pace between fast- to blasting- to brick heavy breakdowns. New drummer Doug Bohn is a competent and quite accomplished replacement for Mike Smith. The tracks are high quality death metal compositions and although not all tracks are easily accessible or instantly memorable, repeated listens reveal both hooks and infectiously catchy rhythms. There´s still next to no melodic content in the music though, so the hooks take time to discover. The tracks are quirky with lots of short breaks, 1-2 second blast beat parts (sometimes even shorter ones within riffs) and loads of tempo changes in every track. It never sounds forced though and there´s always the greater purpose in sight of creating relentlessly brutal and energetic music. Highlights include the opening title track, "Synthetically Revived", "Thrones of Blood", and the re-recording of the title track from "Breeding the Spawn (1993)" which closes "Pierced From Within". All material on the album is consistent in both style and quality though, and I could have picked almost any of the tracks featured on the album and called it a highlight.

So upon conclusion "Pierced from Within" is a high quality death metal album by Suffocation, which shows a more mature band that have honed their craft and now pack enough energy to tilt an elephant, but at the same time make your intellect work. The perfect marriage between relentless brutal energy and technical playing. It´s not that the band have changed their core sound much or that they´ve developed dramatically, but they´ve taken it up a notch here and a 4.5 star (90%) rating is fully deserved.

more than 2 years ago
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siLLy puPPy wrote:

more than 2 years ago

i can't fucking believe it. i have the first three suffocation albums and you've inspired me to listen to them but i can't find them in my woefully unorganized musical library so i'm resorting to listening to it on youtube :O

i love this brutal death metal shit. too bad these guys were just maggots and couldn't really play :P

Time Signature wrote:

more than 2 years ago

"Infecting the Crypts" is awesome, too!

UMUR wrote:

more than 2 years ago

"Infecting the Crypts" would be my choice for a favorite, but overall "Pierced From Within" is my favorite Suffocation album.

Time Signature wrote:

more than 2 years ago

I think this album is pretty good. My favorite track, however, is 'Mass Obliteration' which is not on this album.

UMUR wrote:

more than 2 years ago

Yeah I noticed that :-). Suffocation and brutal death metal in general is an aquired taste, and honestly it´s not a genre of death metal I usually enjoy much. But to my ears Suffocation is special. It´s taken me quite a few years to understand why others praised them so much, but after seing them live it all clicked for me (they are a beast on stage). It´s the same experience I had with Meshuggah. I never enjoyed their music much until I saw them live. Then I began to listen to their music in a new light.