An absolute classic here. Creatively, this album was groundbreaking for Suffocation, as their songs all of a sudden gained so much continuity, without losing the technical complexity. They grew musically in every way, such that this album can be used as a measuring stick against which all modern death metal albums can be assessed. This album has everything that is lacking in more generic brutal death metal bands. Such unique riffs, unlike anything I've heard. They create such a wall of brutality. Just listen to the way track 7, Synthetically Revived, seems to "swing" into different modes of brutality. My "rival" reviewer TJ Davis seems to bag Suffocation alot, but I'd be interested to know if he's listened to this album for its 45 minute entirety. This band does not deserve to be mentioned in the same sentence as Mortician, Six Feet Under etc. because their crappiness in no way resembles Suffocation. They don't even count as Suffocation ripoffs, although there are many around. What can I say? If you like death metal at all, you really NEED this album. I guess if it does have any weak points at all, I'd have to pick out the vocals, which aren't quite as deathy as I might like for this style of music. The band has some fairly cheesy lyrics which are often enunciated in a way that the listener can understand, and if I can understand lyrics I want them to be good and profound, dammit! Not "I WILL KILL IF NEED BE" or "I MUST CONTINUE TO STAB HER CORPSE." This is only a minor complaint though, in an album which is groundbreaking musically.

This review is credited to:
Julian Forbes