26 track, 3-disc set from death metal innovators Suffocation featuring their first three full length studio albums released on Roadrunner Records in the 1990s.

 

CD 1 features their classic 1991 full length recording 'Effigy of the Forgotten', while CD 2 features the follow up 'Breeding the Spawn', originally released in 1993. The final disc, CD 3, features the band's 1995 savage full length return to form 'Pierced From Within'.

 

Formed in 1988 in New York, Suffocation's first release was the seismic 'Human Waste' EP which surfaced via the fledgling Relapse Records in 1991. Subsequently signed to Roadrunner, the band recorded their debut album with legendary producer Scott Burns at the infamous Morrisound Studios in Florida, and laid down the blueprint for what was to become known as 'slam' metal, a version of death metal featuring characteristic 'breakdowns' that often prefaced a furious blastbeat or tempo change.

 

Follow up 'Breeding the Spawn' was hampered by a muddy production, but the band reclaimed their position in the scene with 'Pierced from Within', reuniting with Burns at Morrisound to create a death metal masterpiece. The band split in 1998, only to make a startling comeback in 2003, since when they have released a series of compelling albums and become rightfully respected as one of the most influential pioneers of death metal.

 

This release is complemented with the addition of liner notes from writer David Gehlke, who conducted a brand new interview with original guitarist Doug Cerrito.

 

'Effigy of the Forgotten' Decibel magazine Hall of Fame feature: "'Effigy...' was a benchmark for extreme music, as it sacrificed neither virtuosity or brutality, becoming a signpost for thousands who were still contemplating how to incorporate scalar runs, rapid-fire palm-muting and hummingbird-wing-quick picking into riffs, while opening up rhythmic dimensions and scope of the blast beat."

 

Metal Hammer Top 50 Death Metal Albums of All Time: "Effectively ground zero for the entire 'brutal death metal' genre, 'Effigy...' stripped death metal down to bone, sinew and pulsing heart, delivering a distinctly thuggish, New York alternative to their peers' frequently ornate and complex aesthetic."