Suicide Silence – The Black Crown

Hello? Yes, you, standing over there. Would you be so kind as to hand me that face lying on the ground there by your feet…thank you. Unnnggghhh There, that’s better. I’m sorry you had to see me like that, but I just finished listening to the new Suicide Silence album and as you can see, um, yeah, it ripped my face off. Luckily as a veteran fan of the metal scene I’m used to that happening and had Velcro installed a few years back so it’s less hassle when these situations arise.

That’s right; Suicide Silence is back with their third album “The Black Crown” and if you were thinking that by now they might have mellowed out a bit, let me just tell you they sound as pissed off as they ever have. And they are only getting better with age.

When listening to extreme metal I often come across bands that are trying so hard that they sacrifice songwriting and even any sense of cohesion in their songs in order to be more extreme than the next band. As open minded as I am, most times I write these bands off as unlistenable (having been told so many times growing up that heavy metal was noise I try to avoid using the term even when describing bands that are just that.)

So it’s a real pleasure when I come across a band like Suicide Silence that knows how to push the limits but at the same time the songs are…well…songs! As crazy heavy as they are they never cross over that line into unlistenable, they dance right up to the edge and back again. The songs always retain tight structure even if they are flowing along like a mass of molten lava consuming everything in its path. You gotta love that.

I got scared there for a minute when some clean vocals popped up and they sounded so very Korn-like that I worried maybe they were mellowing out after all. But after a quick Google I was breathing easier knowing that it was in fact Jonathan Davis of Korn doing a guest vocal. And might I say that normally I don’t like Korn because Jonathan’s vocals are buried under the music, but on “Witness the Addiction” he was mixed properly and I kind of dug it. Keep that in mind for the next Korn album man. You’ve got a cool voice, let us hear it.

I better wrap this up before I start doggie leg humping Suicide Silence and things get awkward. So if you are in need of a facelift or maybe some whiplash (or, you know, just some kick ass metal) grab the neck brace and the new Suicide Silence and let ‘er rip!