Review Summary: This album is extremely hard to listen to. Suicide Silence totally can it on latest effort.
In 2012, renowned vocalist Mitch Lucker was killed in a motorcycle accident, leaving the future of Suicide Silence very much up in the air. Then steps in ex-All Shall Perish vocalist Eddie Hermida, who many, including myself thought was an excellent fit to step into Mitch's shoes, with his impressive vocal range and having already performed a Suicide Silence song at Mitch's memorial show, Eddie showed a lot of promise for keeping the band's legendary status they had earned over the course of their career.
It makes me a little sad to say that almost 5 years on after Mitch's passing that this album is a cataclysmic mess on almost every front. There's a lot about this album that just doesn't seem to make any goddamn sense, it's a challenge to put yourself into the mindset the band must've been in when going in to write this record. They've turned their backs on almost everything that made them one of deathcore's finest, and taken this bizarre trip into what I can only assume is a desperate attempt to channel the sounds of 90's Nu Metal. Whilst Nu Metal is undoubtedly making a comeback, Suicide Silence are not one to be watching in this particular revival. If the Deftones produced a really awful album (not something possible, by the way) and you went to see a local cover band play it in full to a crowd of ten, probably the bands parents, this is what it would sound like. Eddie Hermida does his best at a Chino Moreno impression but he's frankly really bad at it. Why have you done this Eddie? Why?
The vocal performance on this album is easily the worst element by far, even the harsh vocals are a step down from their previous efforts with Hermida at the helm. His vocals sound like a first take in a lot instances, and at points he just sounds as though he's unwell. The clean vocals on this album just don't fit with the instrumental, and whilst the instrumental is okay, you're hearing little besides your standard affair deathcore and metal, with the exception of one or two tracks. The song ''Dying In a Red Room'' is probably the strongest of all the tracks, as it's a complete departure from deathcore altogether, and whilst Hermida's vocals sound very forced, the instrumentation doesn't seem to clash with what he's doing too much, and it is at least listenable. Another track that isn't total garbage is ''Conformity'', at times almost managing to create some atmosphere, it even has an alright guitar solo, but then you're reminded you're listening to Suicide Silence's self titled as soon as Hermida chimes in, and then you get a bit sad again. ''Doris'' and ''Hold Me Up, Hold Me Down'' are notable as the worst ***ing things I've heard this year. Listening to these tracks was a ***ing waste of my time. The infamous ''teehee'' chorus in ''Doris'' does not grow on you, don't think that it will. The less said about ''Hold Me Up, Hold Me Down'' the better. Do yourself a favour and don't listen to these songs.
As for the instrumentation and production, this abomination does little to excite the pallet, and is almost repulsive at times. There's a lot of weird *** in here that you would normally take out of a mix you were trying on, like guitar feedback or that scratching noise it makes when you move your hand along a guitar neck or accidentally hit the pickup when palm muting. There's almost no production whatsoever, this album sounds like it was mixed in Audacity on a pair of Apple brand earphones. Every now and again there'll be a breakdown that makes you stop for a second and think you might actually get some enjoyment out of the song you're listening to, but then Eddie Hermida sings again, and you think yourself a fool for even suggesting that idea to yourself. There is also an extremely jarring piece of audio at the end of the album's final track ''Don't Be Careful You Might Hurt Yourself'', where there's a whistled melody and some spoons clacking. It sounds like something you'd hear in the soundtrack to Disney's Pinocchio, except it's bad and lacks any charm.
This album ***ing sucks. I don't know what happened, why it happened, or who's idea it was, but this is an American tragedy. I would've rather have streamed 44 minutes of actual silence than this. I'd definitely have more good things to say about it. This album is irredeemable. Total *** show. This is the Sonic 06 of music.
