Album Review: Suffocation – Hymns from the Apocrypha (Nuclear Blast)

Death metal legends Suffocation will release their ninth full-length album, ‘Hymns from The Apocrypha’, on November 3rd, 2023, via Nuclear Blast. The follow-up to 2017’s ‘…Of the Dark Light’, ‘Hymns from The Apocrypha’ is the first release featuring new vocalist Ricky Myers.

Hotly anticipated, especially now the fanbase has gotten used to Ricky Myers on vocals, Suffocation are back and back with a freaking vengeance. Where any worries about their ability to sustain ferocity and fury, nine albums in, is put to bed immediately with the brutal opening title track.

Suffocation are back and as chaotically cathartic as ever.

Yet, that opener almost pales in comparison to the following expulsion of filthy riffs, maniacal drumbeats, and grotesque vocals that comes on Perpetual Deception and Dim Veil of Obscurity. This is the sound of a band possessed by a desire to go as hard and heavy as inhumanly possible. Like so much of what this band does, it hits the extremities with full force.

It’s been an incredible year for old-school death metal and Suffocation are piling on even more weight. Showcasing even more brash and brutal heaviness in its rawest form with Immortal Execration, Seraphim Enslavement, and Descendants. It’s a constant and cohesive amount of crushing cruelty, where there is absolutely no leniency from this band. If you’re thinking about melody or groove, you’re in the wrong place.

However, if you just want to be beaten until your body aches all over, then Hymns From The Apocrypha is going to absolutely delight. Having already dished out an inordinate amount of punishment, it’s incredible that Suffocation are still capable of making things even more painful with Embrace the Suffering, even more barbaric with Delusions of Mortality, and even more wonderfully extreme with Ignorant Deprivation.

We’re all almost always in safe hands when it comes to Suffocation’s sound and Hymns from The Apocrypha sure has tight grip.

Suffocation – Hymns from The Apocrypha Track Listing:

1. Hymns from The Apocrypha
2. Perpetual Deception
3. Dim Veil of Obscurity
4. Immortal Execration
5. Seraphim Enslavement
6. Descendants
7. Embrace the Suffering
8. Delusions of Mortality
9. Ignorant Deprivation

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