Suicide Silence- The Black Crown REVIEW

I've written in the past that Acacia Strain's Wormwood punches you in the dick with heaviness. This latest Suicide Silence album goes a step further by dicking you in the punch. 

This quintet has always been intense, provocative and overall, heavy. The Cleansing introduced them to the world as a deathcore band, but there was the underlying promise of so much more. No Time to Bleed introduced a new bassist in Dan Kenny, new solos from Mark H. and some beautiful riffage from Chris Garza all atop the always brutal Alex Lopez.  

The Black Crown shows us an almost entirely new group of musicians at work. "You Only Live Once" begins with a spoken word intro that showcases a new direction for the band; instead of shrieking his way across the new album, Mitch Lucker seems to have taken his time writing his vocal parts on this offering. "Witness the Addiction," aside from giving us the orgasmic collaboration of Jonathan Davis (you may have heard of him) and Mitch L., this song build on the instrumental track preceding it to stand out as one of the heaviest songs SS has ever written, despite the clean vocals.

"Human Violence" is a return to some of the SS we've come to love. Its more of a thrashy, four-on-the-floor type of song that gives way to a sinister, primal breakdown towards the end of the song. "Fuck Everything" is a sludgy, powerful assault of a song that pounds Mitch's message home. Lyrically The Black Crown  seems to have a little carry over from "No Time to Bleed" in that it has an overall "fuck it, lets live life" message that anyone can get behind. The rest of the album varies between an explanation of Mitch's disdain for religion (Witness the Addiction), disgust for drug abusers (Slaves to Substance - a little autobiographical of the band, perhaps?) and the capacity we as a race have for violence (Human Violence).

The Black Crown is heavy, its fast, its precise and polished; but above all, it is the album Siocide Silence will be judged by forever. The riffs are more technical, the rhythms are groovier, and the breakdowns are breakdown-ier. The use of effects on this album (much like Emmure's slightly updated sound on Children of Cybertron) lends a whole new feel to this band. The clean vocals, the new speed and technicality and the overall growth this band has made has forged an insane album. Get it. Blast it.


Tracklisting:

1. Slaves to Substance
2. O.C.D.
3. Human Violence 
4. You Only Live Once
5. Fuck Everything
6. March to the Black Crown
7. Witness the Addiction (Feat. Jonathan Davis)
8. Cross-Eyed Catastrophe (Feat. Alexia Rodriguez)
9. Smashed (Feat. Frank Mullen)
10. The Only Thing That Sets Us Apart
11. Cancerous Skies