SUFFOCATION ‘Blood Oath’ (Nuclear Blast) RATING: 7/10

By RYAN MAVITY

As brutal as they’ve ever been, death metal pioneers Suffocation are back with Blood Oath, a solid collection of tunes that’s sure to appeal to death metal aficionados everywhere.

For those expecting pretty songs with a melody, you’ve come to the wrong place. From the band's name to song titles such as “Pray for Forgiveness,” “Cataclysmic Purgatory,” “Mental Hemorrhage” and “Provoking the Disturbed,” Suffocation is here to crush all in its path. Vocalist Frank Mullen has a great death metal growl, the guitars swirl and buzz all around and drummer Mike Smith steals the show with a flurry of double kick drum, blast beat madness. The problem with many death metal bands is that all their songs sound alike, but Suffocation puts a little variety into the proceedings, with just enough of a mix of fast and slow to keep the listener on his/her toes. “Undeserved” might be the best example, as the band unleashes a slow, evil riff at the beginning, only to kick it up a notch at the end. “Mental Hemorrhage” and “Provoking the Disturbed” both have a Slayer kind of vibe.

Mullen’s lyrics are about what you’d expect, meditations on murder, torture and mayhem, but hey, it's called brutal death metal for a reason. The production itself has a very raw feel to it, which makes the brutality of the music and lyrics even more disturbing. Blood Oath isn’t anything terribly groundbreaking, but clearly, these death metal veterans know what they’re doing, and throughout the album, you know you’re in good hands.