Album Review: Suffocation – Hymns From The Apocrypha
Reviewed by Daniel Phipps
So let's get the elephant out of the room right away Hymns of The Apocrypha will be the first Suffocation record not to feature legendary vocalist Frank Mullen. Instead of writing an Eulogy to Frank let's talk about the man filling his shoes Ricky Myers. Now if you are not a death metal aficionado Ricky Myers is not some guy that Suffocation have plucked off the street, his legacy within the death metal genre is well renowned being in bands in a drumming capacity such as the legendary Disgorge and cult bands such as Sarcoytic and Cinerary he has been Suffocations primary live vocalist since 2019.
Now as much as I adore Suffocation, it is fair to say the band's output over the reunion years has been inconsistent at points but I personally always look forward to a new Suffocation release and for obvious reasons this was going to be different. Hymns of Apocrypha might be one of the most intense releases in Suffocation’s discography, if there is one thing I know it's that when Suffocation turns it on, there are few who do it any better. As much as the Suffocation brand of death metal is emulated by other bands all over the world, Suffo has a particular riff style that when you hear it you instantly envision Terrance Hobbs creating that riff and this record certainly contains plenty of those moments.
One big part of the intensity of this record is the bass sound coming from Derek Boyer who is the only other long standing member of the band since its reformation along with Hobbs. The drums also sound absolutely massive from the insanity of the blast sections to the sheer heaviness of the crushing slower parts. On Hymns of Apocrypha I also hear elements of a more hardcore sounding breakdown sections at points and these sound really cool, and the way these riffs are utilised within the song writing really works. Now I know what most people will be interested in, how do the vocals sound? Well they sound great. Ricky has a very similar style to Frank, I mean lets be honest Frank Mullen is a top 5 death metal vocalist of all time and this record would not sound right if the vocal style was completely different, so having a sound that sounds like what you would expect from Suffocation is definitely an important factor.
Hymns of Apocrypha is an extremely well rounded brutal death metal record in which Suffocation have proved they still have lots of life left in them. If I was going to make a truly controversial statement this album could very easily turn into the best post reunion Suffocation record, that's just how much they have really nailed this new record.
