A good four years separate rager Pinnacle of Bedlam from new killer Of the Dark Light. But it wasn't always like this. Back in the '90s, Suffocation maniacs waited, at most, two years between old and new fixes of New York-styled brutality. Landmark full-length Effigy of the Forgotten was only two years removed from debut EP, Human Waste. Likewise, Breeding the Spawn slayed posers and pretenders a year and a half after Effigy of the Forgotten blueprinted Suffocation into the history books. Clearly, there were times when Suffocation's march towards total annihilation was fast and furious.   When Pinnacle of Bedlam hit store shelves in the winter 2013, the world was proverbially on its knees. North Korea was conducting underground nuclear tests, a meteor hit a city in Russia's South Urals, and Benedict XVI resigned as Pope, the first to intentionally do so since 1294. Four years later, the blue marble we inhabit is certifiably nuttier and more violent. It's the perfect vehicle for Of the Dark Light, a full-length that not only welcomes new members-drummer Eric Morotti and guitarist Charlie Errigo-but also sees Hobbs writing the craziest, cruelest Suffocation material since Effigy of the Forgotten.   To put Of the Dark Light to so-called 'tape', the band holed up-for the fifth time-at Joe Cincotta's Full Force Studios (Waking the Cadaver, Mortal Decay) in Long Island, New York. From the beginning of December 2016 to just after Christmas, Suffocation mercilessly laid down tracks like 'Your Last Breaths', 'Return to the Abyss', 'Some Things Should Be Left Alone', and a re-make of Breeding the Spawn bruiser 'Epitaph of the Credulous'. To make sure everything was "tight", Suffocation rehearsed for almost a month before hitting up Cincotta's studio. Old habits, turns out, are hard to break.   To perfect Of the Dark Light, Suffocation shipped off the recordings to Chris 'Zeuss' Harris to mix and master. Suffocation wanted a clear yet punishing sound. So, as with Pinnacle of Bedlam so too with Of the Dark Light. Having recently worked with death metal legends Six Feet Under, hardcore heroes Hatebreed, and tech-thrashers Revocation, Zeuss knew exactly what to put in and extract out of Suffocation for the group's eighth full-length.   But if there's one thing that's different about Of the Dark Light, it's the vocals. Founding member and vocalist Frank Mullen is the main vocalist, but his successor, contributing vocalist Kevin Muller (The Merciless Concept / ex-Pyrexia), also has skin the Suffocation game. That being said, Mullen's contributions were almost not meant to be. The story goes Mullen voiced his concerns about appearing on the follow-up to Pinnacle of Bedlam while hanging at a local bowling alley with Hobbs, Boyer, new guitarist Charlie Errigo, and a few friends. Frank said to his bandmates, 'Yo, I don't think I'm going to do the new record!' They were quick to respond, 'Come on, Frank!' A little coercing later, Mullen and Muller would brutalize their way through Boyer's transcendental death-wish lyrics.   "There are a few songs on Of the Dark Light that are about loosely, I think, horror movie topics," Hobbs adds. "We're a death metal band. But the majority of the lyrics deal with transcending everything through death. Transcending our physical form. There's touches of the Tibetan Book of the Dead to the lyrics. I mean, we prepare our whole lives to just pass away. What happens next? I don't know, but I'm sure I'll find out sooner or later."
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