Artist: SUFFOCATION
Album: PINNACLE OF BEDLAM LTD. EDIT. (CD+DVD DIGI)

Year: 2013
Media type: CD

Every band with the tag “extreme metal” owes a debt of gratitude to SUFFOCATION, period. As the creators of brutal death metal their influence can be felt far and wide. Every break down, every blast beat, and every technical riff (before Nintendo noises were introduced to guitar playing) was done by SUFFOCATION first and frankly better.

Four years have passed since the release of Blood Oath, all the while the band laid silently waiting, gathering their energy until the time was right for them to return in a vicious blaze of glory. That long awaited day has finally come in the form of the monolithicly devastating, Pinnacle of Bedlam.

The record marks the return of one-time drummer Dave Culross and sees the band upping the brutality and speed quotient, picking up where Despise the Sun and Pierced From Within left off. Produced by the band once again with Joe Cincotta (INTERNAL BLEEDING, CRIMINAL ELEMENT), and mixed and mastered this time by Zeuss (HATEBREED, ARSIS, AGNOSTIC FRONT), the quintet has never sounded this clear or well… brutal. Make no mistake, SUFFOCATION is once again fully invigorated, seeing red and out for blood.

In 2008, the band signed a world-wide deal with Nuclear Blast Records and began working on material for their label debut. By 2009, SUFFOCATION had entered Full Force Studios with Joe Cincotta, who the band had worked with to record their two previous efforts. Zack Ohren (All Shall Perish, Decrepit Birth) was enlisted this time around for his mixing and mastering capabilities to capture the band’s ever-elusive live sound and intensity, resulting in Blood Oath.

Heavy touring would follow but in early 2012, SUFFOCATION would part ways with original drummer Mike Smith, causing ex-drummer Dave Culross to take his place yet again.

Few bands can be credited with creating a legacy, however, legendary New York based extreme metal outfit SUFFOCATION have done just that. For over 20 years now SUFFOCATION have been creating music that has become the very standard by which we judge all things extreme. Their fusion of technicality, groove and sheer unrelenting brutality has been imitated but never quite duplicated. Milestone records such as Effigy of the Forgotten, Pierced from Within, and Despise the Sun have influenced a wealth of today’s best musical talents. Now with their seventh full-length album, Pinnacle of Bedlam, SUFFOCATION will continue to influence generations to come. 

TRACKLIST:

1. Cycles of Suffering 
2. Purgatorial Punishment 
3. Eminent Wrath 
4. As Grace Descends 
5. Sullen Days 
6. Pinnacle of Bedlam 
7. My Demise 
8. Inversion 
9. Rapture of Revocation 
10. Beginning of Sorrow

LINE-UP:

Frank Mullen (vocals)
Terrance Hobbs (guitar)
Dave Culross (drums)
Guy Marchais (guitar)
Derek Boyer (bass)