Release Day Roundup: 11/3/23

Top Picks

Suffocation – Hymns From The Apocrypha (brutal tech death)

I don't know if you're aware of this, but Suffocation are a really good death metal band. A great one, in fact. They don't have the broadest discography out there, but of the nine albums they've released over the last thirty years, they don't have a single dud, and I'd even wager that some of the more overlooked albums from their middle period (i.e. Souls to Deny (2004) through Blood Oath (2009)) are among their best. Having said that, their last two records, Pinnacle of Bedlam (2013) and ...Of the Dark Light (2017), have seen an ever so slight drop off in quality, which – coupled with retirement of iconic vocalist Frank Mullen from touring in 2013 before fully stepping back in 2018, which left guitarist Terrance Hobbs as the only long-standing member of the band – suggested Suffocation might finally be on the wane. Never ones to be easily put down though, the death metal pioneers seem to have taken stock of this trajectory and returned with an album that not only addresses these concerns head on, but which might even be their crowning achievement.

Hymns From The Apocrypha sees Suffocation operating at full capacity. Disgorge vocalist Ricky Myers, who's been touring with the band, in Mullen's place, since 2013, slips easily into the shoes of his predecessor, with his lower and notably gruffer register also bringing an increased menace to this latest offering. The album itself draws from all aspects of their career, basking in the enhanced technicality and tonal darkness that characterised their mid-period output and also leaning into the more melodic experiments of the last two albums on tracks like the instantly arresting "Dim Veil of Obscurity". Where Hymns From The Apocrypha stands apart from those recent releases, and even the mid-period offerings is in also throwing back (and down) to the unrelenting brutality of their earlier definitive releases as well. Where it excels is in not only being reminiscent of Effigy of the Forgotten (1991) and Pierced from Within (1995) but also easily going toe to toe with them, and often coming out on top as well.

Xoth – Exogalactic (Carcass ...in Space!)

That Carcass are an even better death metal band than Suffocation is something Xoth are obviously aware. Something else they are also aware of is that (much like the best entry in any horror franchise) good things are even better when you pit them in space! Which is why, even though a lot of Exogalactic – the third full-length from the much touted Seattle tech-deathers – sounds like a direct continuation of later period Carcass, it also comes off as fresh and inventive, rather than derivative, due to its accentuated and often progressive-leaning extra terrestrial setting. There's also a lot of mid-period Death and tech-thrash, á la Revocation, Voivod, Vektor and the like, and even some harder hitting moments that bring Suffocation and Meyers efforts (mentioned above) into play. They say there's no school like the old school, but (much like Edward Bellamy before them) Xoth have proven that one of the best ways of looking backward, is to also look ahead to the future.

Merciful Fate – Melissa (Remastered) (spooky speed metal)

Keeping the old-school, retro vibes rolling, I wanted to give a quick shout out to the remastered version of Merciful Fate's Melissa (1983) that hit streaming services earlier this week.* The album itself should need no introduction, being one of the most influential and important underground metal albums of all time. Yet, while I have always held a genuine respect and reverence for Melissa, I've also always found its muddy, 1980s budget mix to make it borderline unlistenable (or at least unappealing to the point that I've very rarely gone back to it). The remastering job on this new digital release is therefore not only a welcome update, but an essential one (and arguably a far more impressive feat than the instantly forgettable "new" Beatles song that also dropped today). It really is night and day between the two versions, in terms of clarity, and while purists may begrudge the cleaner sound of this new version, I imagine I'm not the only one out it will allow to actually enjoy the experience of listening to the album, in addition to giving it its proper due. The updated art means I can also finally understand what's going on on the cover as well, so that's nice too.

*Apparently this version's been available in physical form since 2005, but I didn't know that, and I imagine that for many modern music listeners, like myself, a 2005 physical remaster may as well not exist anyway.**

**Also, I've had bloody good time listening to it these last couple of days and I thought you might too, and it's my column and I'll damn well do what I want.