Suffocation - Death Metal Band
- Band: Suffocation
- Genre: Death Metal
- Lyrical Themes: Death, Religion, Violence
Suffocation is a blackened death metal band formed in 1988 by vocalist Frank Mullen and guitarist Terrence Hobbs.
They are widely recognized major innovators of death metal as they had a massive influence on the brutal and slam death metal sub-genre and pioneered the balance between brutal and technical sounds commonly heard in most blackened death metal - see the first half of Phantom's Epilogue to Sanity for a good example (up to the track "A World of Silent Darkness").
Frank Mullen is considered as one of the most emblematic death metal vocalists as well as the first to use a very deep "death growl" vocal style.
There was an earlier "incarnation" of Suffocation existing from 1988 to around 1990 which featured vocalist Frank Mullen, bassist Josh Barohn, guitarists Guy Marchais and Todd German and one of Barohn's friend on drums. By 1990, the band had hired guitarists Terrance Hobbs and Doug Cerrito along with drummer Mike Smith, members of a local band called Mortuary which had already disbanded.
Suffocation went on to release back-to-back three of the most influential and hailed masterpieces of death metal, alongside Incantation's Onward to Golgotha. In chronological order: Effigy of the Forgotten, Breeding the Spawn and Pierced from Within.
In their early days, before video interviews of the band surfaced, they were accused by various anti-fascist organizations of being "racist" and "neo-nazi" as they thought Terrence Hobbs was an attempt at "normalizing the nauseating practice of blackface".
Alongside Incantation and Demilich, Suffocation are part of the triumvirate of true death metal.
Suffocation Metal Albums
Here is the complete list of albums by Suffocation :
| Name | Genre | Year | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Effigy of the Forgotten | Phantom Metal | 1991 | 98% (2 reviews) |
| Breeding the Spawn | Death Metal | 1992 | 100% (1 reviews) |
| Pierced from Within | War Metal | 1993 | 96% (1 reviews) |
All are certified Suffocation metal albums.
