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Breeding The Spawn

The album opens with ‘Beginning Of Sorrow’. As compared to “Effigy Of The Forgotten”, Mullen sounds larger, louder, and seemingly with a point to prove! Likewise with the production, retaining that primitive edge but with evidently more polish and clarity. There seems to be evidence of exploring different song structures, especially within ‘Breeding The Spawn’ and it’s dynamic shifts and exploration of varying rhythmic patterns. A sneaky bass solo as well in the latter stages, simply not being content with holding down the rhythm section and wanting time in the limelight. Though this isn’t an isolated occurrence as the bass makes frequent appearances as the melodic focal point throughout the album. It feels as though the guitars are given more creative freedom too. Or maybe it’s the enhanced production allowing the details to shine more brightly and become more salient. ‘Anomalistic Offerings’ offers insight into this more expansive approach. Whereas the song structures may have felt one dimension in the previous work, things feel more unpredictable and just straight up chaotic at times in “Breeding The Spawn”, speaking to a more mature and confident song writing process. This feels like an underrated gem in Suffocation’s expansive discography, released at a time when I personally would have been far too young to remember its original release. Hence releasing and reintroducing this album now seems like a smart decision.

Pierced From Within

Time for a bit of a fan boy moment and a trip down memory lane. See, my introduction to Suffocation came at the tender age of 15, when I stumbled across ‘Brood Of Hatred’.

“Species of unknown origin scanning the cosmic abyss,

Planting the seed of horror and hatred”

That opening vocal line still bewilders me to this day, conjuring up myriad of possible interpretations. It’s really Frank Mullen’s ferocious guttural delivery that makes it, still retaining an impressive level of diction and clarity too! The song slithers and weaves between frantic and blistering in it’s speed, and the slow and bludgeoning breakdowns. The guitars technically proficient and being the bench mark for all other wannabe death metal shredders to work towards. Easily the highlight of the album in my eyes, though that may be the rose tinted glasses as others will point towards the album’s title track as the lead single and arguably the greatest of the band as a whole! It’s easy to see why with another clinic on the guitars and some tasty licks. Stick around for the genuinely mind bending solo too!

During the recording of the behind the scenes of the documentary for “Roadrunner United The All Star Sessions”, former drummer Mike Smith described himself as being one of the quietest in the crowd but uses the drums to express himself. Isolate the drum track from any song from “Pierced From Within” and you’ll agree this is one ferocious and impressive way to express himself! You’ll also agree that this is one of the finest extreme metal drumming performances of all time, effortlessly slamming the snare like it owes him lunch money, and peeling off incredible double kick drum blasts that would make the calves and ankles of most mortals crumble!

Perhaps a little curveball comes in the shape of ‘Torn Into Enthrallment’, particularly with the stripped back guitar opening arpeggio with no distortion but a rather harrowing and haunting cleaner tone, like the opening to a horror movie. Order is then resumed with the usual cocktail of guttural vocals, ferocious blast beats, and sheer unrelenting intensity! Another curveball

comes with ‘Suspended In Tribulation’, which at 6 minutes 31 seconds is practically a prog song, much longer than anything else they had released to date. This allows Frank Mullen and co to really let the creative juices flow and produce a much more expansive composition, one where ideas are given much more time to develop and rest organically, rather than being hurried and rushed in “Breeding The Spawn”.

It’s easy to see why the album is regarded so highly in the world of extreme metal! An album that’s aged gracefully and truly stood the test of time.

Closing Thoughts

So admittedly, scepticism did initially overcome me and was nearly my undoing in the beginning. Curiosity didn’t kill the cat here though and instead though I’ve been rewarded with a deeper dive into the seminal works of true genre legends, and as a side product, a much greater admiration and respect for Suffocation. “Jesus Wept – The Roadrunner Years” should be essential listening to any fan of brutal death and extreme metal!