Suffocation – Hymns From The Apocrypha

Pretty good even without Frank it still sounds like suffocation, nicely done

"Hymns From The Apocrypha" is a strong album that will collect compliments not only on the right of seniority for bands achievements, but also on the essence of the material presented. The new album sounds in one breath, monolithic. The album was composed and recorded well with a high performing class, it feels like it has been worked out and some things have been checked and weighed for a long time. There is nothing impulsive about it, it is a long professional work in the studio of musicians and engineers. It turned out to be balanced, but a little "dry". And here there is a slight dissonance, which consists in the fact that we would like more heaviness and rudeness in the sound from the band, but really such technical material cannot be presented in a different way, otherwise all these "jewelry" instrumental parts will turn into noise. In any case, the material deserves repeated listening, the spirit of Suffocation is recognized in this album, it is worth noting how organically Ricky Myers' vocals sound - it was a separate challenge for him. The guys also did the right thing by inviting Frank to record at least one song.

In of sound, there is good separation and balance of instruments, there is a specific metallic clang from both strings and percussion. Of course, it was not without compression and digitalization of parties, but this is a kind of evil for the good and a challenge of the time. In my opinion, it was only in the post-reunion period that Suffocation were able to record albums the way they really wanted to. Here is a surgically clean sound that highlights all the ornate perversions of musical thought and non-linearity with rare reverences to one's own brutal heritage.

In of design, the band and the label did not bother, a simple single envelope, an insert with lyrics / photos and vinyl directly. By the way, when weighing vinyl, microweights showed 175 grams, although nowhere is it indicated that it is heavy vinyl. The vinyl is smooth, the mass is almost inaudible, although my copy has a few little noises between songs, but not critically. This is a good regular press, which does not need special excesses to attract attention to itself. The legendary name Suffocation is enough.