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nd 2013, Suicide Silence announced new vocalist Eddie Hernan, later releasing ‘You Can’t Stop Me’ with Lucker’s final material. The ‘Suicide Silence’ album is their first full-length with Eddie’s original input. First new single, ‘Doris’, caused an amount of mixed reaction online, mostly regarding their new sound… a much softer approach to what has gone before, with the addition of clean vocals. Here in the UK, there has even been a petition to stop Nuclear Blast from releasing their new record, which is just laughable really at how silly that concept is. Through all of the perceived backlash, the band and label are thankfully sticking to their guns. Personally, I like the new sound, but it did take a few listens to fully understand their new direction. In the end, when I finally felt like I could understand it, it was like breath of fresh air. It’s very different to your standard deathcore sound. If you could imagine Deftones and Slipknot collaborating, then this is what they would sound like. My personal favourite tracks are ‘Doris’, ‘Dying In A Red Room’, and ‘Conformity’. On the former, you can hear Suicide Silence’s old style mixed in with the new. I really enjoyed Eddie’s variety of vocal techniques within the track. The different textures of sound from the guitars are really nice too. ‘Dying In A Red Room’ makes you go ‘what the fuck?’ The more you listen to it, the more you’re like, ‘Yeah, yeah! This is pretty sick.’ It compliments the new sound of ‘Doris’, consolidating the ‘new sound’. ‘Conformity’ doesn’t just hint at a new direction, it’s completely different for Suicide Silence, with a very old skool metal feel. Slowed down, clean vocals, and extremely healthy guitar solos. It’s a well-constructed track that I really enjoyed listening to. Overall, I liked ‘Suicide Silence’. It’s not a record I’m totally ga-ga for, but I can appreciate their new direction, and I look forward to hearing it performed live on their upcoming UK tour. Often, when you see bands perform new material live, you experience it in a new light, and gain an even deeper appreciation of it. I wish Suicide Silence all the best for this release. It’s a bold choice. To the ever-so-vocal internetters that are angry with what they’ve heard thus far, don’t completely write this album off before you’ve even heard it. It’s deserving of your attention. Review: Carol Black
