Suffocation
Effigy Of The Forgotten

THE REVIEW

It's not very often that a Death Metal band's debut album is later regarded as the best (or among the best) of the band's discography. Alright, it happened to Morbid Angel, Autopsy, Deicide, Grave, Malevolent Creation, and (though for very different reasons) to the early Death and Cynic, but nobody expected a killer debut like this from these five New Yorkers.
The historic masterpiece "Effigy Of The Forgotten," from the year of our disgrace 1991 (what a coincidence, right?), is in my opinion one of the three Brutal albums that truly made the history of the genre (the others, for those who didn’t get it, are "Tomb Of The Mutilated" by the "cousins" Cannibal Corpse and the self-titled debut by the deific Deicide, both of which are absolute must-haves!) and it is seen by many as the real masterpiece of the band (myself included, although bass-wise I prefer "Pierced From Within").
We find the quintet in its original lineup, namely a very thin long-haired Frank Mullen on vocals (I still wonder how he managed to growl like that, damn he must have weighed around 35 kg!), on the two axes the magnificent Doug Cerrito and Terrance Hobbs, on bass the excellent Josh Barohn, and on drums the superhuman colored drummer Mike Smith (impressive, I would say).
The five don’t waste any time and immediately start pulverizing our eardrums with the disorienting opener "Liege Of Inveracity," perhaps the best song of all time by Suffocation... The track that truly encapsulates the essence of the Suffocation sound: ultra low-tuned, heavy guitars performing incredibly technical, unpredictable, irregular riffs on the verge of the conceivable, a fast and dynamic bass that makes the already tangled guitar lines even more intricate, and a drum that is incredibly fluid and precise in the rapid blast beats shot at inhuman speeds, alternated with slower parts where the monstrous Smith gives free rein to his creativity and his high technical preparation.
How could we not mention growler Frank Mullen...
The growl that permeates the entire album is very different from what is heard on later releases: mumbled and incomprehensible words vomited with unheard-of violence that greatly resemble Chris Barnes of "Butchered At Birth" and "Tomb Of The Mutilated," with a strange dimension of fullness and vocal compactness even superior to the excellent Chris!
Until the concluding "Jesus Wept," everything not only approaches perfection but even surpasses it: the main protagonists of the record are they, Suffocation (note that in a couple of songs there is also a special guest appearance as backing growler, George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher, then with Monstrosity and today with Cannibal Corpse), the inconceivably compact and dynamic riffs mostly written by the great Doug Cerrito (by the way... Could someone please tell me if Dougie is of Italian origin? Thanks), the highly imaginative ultra-technical solos of the already mentioned, fantastic guitarists Cerrito-Hobbs who were truly the ones who made Suffocation's fortune, the bass, slightly overshadowed by the "others," of a still excellent Barohn and the inhuman power of the phenomenal, impressive Smith (monstrous, I can't think of any other adjectives!) creating impenetrable walls of sound based on full-throttle double bass and blast beats.
No complaints about the heavy production, curated by the never too praised Scott Burns (but where is he today?).
This is one of Suffocation's two masterpieces, a great album where technique merges with compositional skill and destructive attitude. I could talk about it for hours but it wouldn't do enough to convince you, so just buy it, period.