Suppression - Sorrow Of Soul Through Flesh

Death and thrash metal has had no shortage of sincere revivalists with good taste and good intentions over the past two decades. Only a smaller handful of them have had the passion, the raw edge, and the sense of unguarded discovery as the original innovators of these genres, however. And a disproportionate number of them seem to come from Chile. With two ex-members of lauded Chilean thrash band Ripper, Suppression would seem to be positioned to do for technical death metal what Ripper did for technical thrash, and that is exactly what they accomplish on their debut album, The Sorrow Of Soul Through Flesh. Not a revival in the sense of a dusty museum piece, this is more of a full-on assault that would do proud the likes of Luc Lemay or any of the various bands Steve DiGeorgio played bass for in the nineties. Suppression here presents a bloody feast of intricate riffs, jaw-dropping fretless bass, head-snapping drum rhythms, and disgusting vocals to rival Cryptopsy or Cannibal Corpse. No mere intellectual exercise, however, as the band do not stretch their songs out to progressive suite length or get indulgently experimental. This is music that is hand-crafted to satisfy both trained musicians and headbangers. Ten tracks deep and graced with typically gut-twisting art by Paolo Girardi, The Sorrow Of Soul Through Flesh is sure to be one of the most impactful death metal releases of the year.