Sufferatory - Pseudophilosophic MCD - 2008 - Sevared/Butchered Records

Starting off with a great sample setting the mood of obscure philosophy and esotericism, this monstrous EP blasts off with chunky riffs and pounding drums, eventually leading into a thrashy riff with a very Suffocation style. Patrick at Butchered Records told me that this was "like a Russian Suffocation", and I am bound to believe him after taking a few focused listens to this.

The lyrics are noteworthy which is odd for slam/brutal death metal, dealing with various themes of nihilism and philosophy. The sound sometimes reminds me of countrymen Emberland, though with a less snappy drum tone in general, and with more blurry and bassy riffs. Speaking of bass, this guy rules! Max rocks out on every track with extremely heavy, loud and catchy basslines which make this release a little more distinct. However, sometimes they can get a LITTLE out of hand, but it's usually not a problem.

The four tracks make up a total running time of 16 minutes, so there's just enough here to whet the listener's appetite, but also just enough to make you beg for more. Apparently these guys also had a full-length before this, but according to Barrett and Patrick it's not as well-produced, which is a shame. Very much looking forward to new material by these guys. The world needs more Suffocation-style slam with great musicianship and songwriting, so this is right on par! At S-M, we love Russian slam (Katalepsy review forthcoming), so from Nick and I...stay sick, motherland!