suicide silence the black crown

Released: 18 July 2011 Label: Century Media

Album number three from American deathcore monsters Suicide Silence represents a big step up for the five piece and there is no doubt that within their own fanbase, it will enhance their worldwide reputation. In places, it is a truly awesome piece of work and the sheer aggression captured on these eleven songs is enough to leave you punch drunk for weeks.

That said, The Black Crown is perhaps unlikely to win over any of the band’s many doubters; those who have thrown dirt at the band since its inception back in 2002 will continue to do so and whether Suicide Silence will finally cast aside their ‘scene band’ tag as they seem intent on doing will be entirely down to whether fans of extreme music will have a rare moment of open-minded inclusion and look beyond the surface dressings.   

Like it or loathe it though, the greatest triumph of The Black Crown is that as much as the band is clearly eager to reach a wider audience, they aren’t prepared to pander to them. There is not the merest whiff of sell-out on show and if Suicide Silence is to break boundaries, it will be on their own terms.

All of which is great news for existing fans. The band deliver more of the same, only bigger, better, leaner and meaner than before, packed with aggression and backed up by some frightening technical ability. The rampant Human Violence allows drummer Alex Lopez and bassist Daniel Kenny to lock down a brutal rhythmic base straight from the darkest recesses of grindcore, while more considered but no less intense tracks like the sinister Witness the Addiction display some welcome variety in the guitar work of Mark Heylmun and Christopher Garza, and even allows vocalist Mitch Lucker to show that there is much more to his delivery than screams and growls.

Cross Eyed Catastrophe is probably the most fully realised track the band has recorded to date and succeeds in fusing vaguely gothic atmospherics with a more familiar metal assault. It’s something we thought we might never hear from Suicide Silence and it’s crystal clear the band has long since jettisoned any kind of scene or whatever-core trappings. They sound like the real deal and as if they plan on being around for quite some time. Get used to it.

by Marcus Jervis