Words such as “legendary” and “groundbreaking” are nowadays thrown around with reckless abandon, so much so that they have lost much of their currency. However, when it comes to Long Island’s Suffocation no other words will suffice. Raised and weaned on a diet of Death and Slayer, they completely changed the metal landscape with the three albums they released via Roadrunner Records in the early 1990’s. Ushering in a new level of brutality and technicality, they raised the bar for all who followed, whilst simultaneously inventing the “slam” genre and sowing the seeds for offshoots such as deathcore. Their first three album now get collected by Cherry Red Records as Jesus Wept: The Roadrunner Years, to illustrate why Suffocation remain the original, and the best.

Disc One: Effigy Of The Forgotten

Some albums are so far ahead of the curve that time is only just catching up, and that’s certainly the case with Suffocation’s 1991 debut Effigy Of The Forgotten. That it is only getting the kudos it so thoroughly deserves is kind of understandable; the band were a bunch of self-taught mall-rats who took their cues from Reign In Blood and Leprosy, and wrote by feel and (perhaps unwittingly) broke every rule in the book. As such, songs were packed tightly with riffs, the solos didn’t follow orthodox scales, while Frank Mullen’s vocals come direct from Hell’s basement. Five individual talents, yet their magic derived from bringing it all together into a cohesive whole: the vocals weave between the riffs and solos, the rhythm section, often firing wildly like a possessed Ouija board, create the shifting sands which affords the guitarists an exorbitant amount of freedom. It all feeds into the whole and much credit must go to producer Scott Burns (an ingredient they’d miss on the follow-up) who plays to the band’s strengths: it’s raw, yet the mix places everything on an even keel, whilst the sound of shovelling dirt at the conclusion of ‘Infecting The Crypts’ is a thing of genius and is the kind of move that elevated Suffocation above their peers.

When taken in context, it’s easy to see why Effigy Of The Forgotten is so influential; a year earlier Priest had unleashed Painkiller and Pantera Cowboys From Hell, yet Suffocation’s debut, hitting the streets a mere 12 months later, smokes ‘em all. It’s as if someone has put it in a capsule and sent it deep into the future, and 35 years after its initial release, the time is ripe for Effigy Of The Forgotten.

Disc Two: Breeding The Spawn

After the acclaim which greeted their first album, Suffocation faced a similar problem that many bands encountered, namely, where to go sonically? Effigy Of The Forgotten was a difficult beast to top, so the label’s move was a sidestep and break with tradition. Out went Scott Burns and Florida’s Morrisound Studios, to be replaced by the environs of New York’s Noise Lab. The band weren’t happy with the results and on inspecting opening track ‘Beginning Of Sorrow’ it’s easy to hear why. There’s a muddiness to the mix that stands in marked contrast to the cleanliness of their debut and it sets a template for the rest of the record. While death metal was never meant to be pretty and ornate, a clarity is required to separate all the instruments and ensure it doesn’t resemble a musical soup. It’s not only the cloudy sound, but the whole album suffers from an indistinct mix; it feels as if Breeding The Spawn was recorded at three different locations, and in three different eras. Even within individual songs the sound can veer wildly, with the drums in particular being prone to some wild variations. That’s a shame because the songs are just as well written as those on its predecessor, whilst the musicianship is equally vivacious, Mullen’s vocals being even more demonic and inhumane, but the poor production acts as a handbrake to Suffocation’s creativity. It means that despite the strength of songs such as ‘Epitaph Of The Credulous’ and ‘Prelude To Repulsion’, Breeding The Spawn is a hard album to consume in one sitting.

Suffocation agreed with much of the criticism levelled at Breeding The Spawn and most cuts from this album have been re-recorded and included on later long players. A remix of the original album is long overdue, but for now Breeding The Spawn is an interesting artifact in the Suffocation discography.

Disc Three: Pierced From Within

Thankfully there was no bad blood between Scott Burns and Suffocation and the winning team were reunited for the band’s third album, Pierced From Within. It feels as if both parties are keen to prove themselves and Suffocation don’t waste time on fancy introductions, getting straight down to business with a brutal drum roll and an equally violent riff and they’re off with ‘Pierced From Within’ delivering an unsullied brand of death metal that leaps straight for the throat. Scott Burns has kept up his end of the bargain, too, furnishing the album with a crystalline, razor sharp sound, and one that cuts through the air like a steely knife. His production brings to the fore the time changes and dizzying guitar noodling which was sadly obscured on Breeding The Spawn and that makes Pierced From Within a more rounded listen. Whist most of the songs on their previous long player hovered around the four-minute mark, cuts here such as ‘Suspended In Tribulation’ and ‘Torn Into Enthralment’ push the envelope a bit further; it’s as if the band are unfettered and have the freedom to spread their wings.

Pierced From With finds Suffocation re-recording two songs, ‘Synthetically Revived’ from their debut EP Human Waste and the title-track from Breeding The Spawn. You’ll soon hold these discs in you hands and be able to compare and contrast the two. Needless to say, the version re-recorded with Scott Burns is far superior and gives a tantalising glimpse of how Breeding The Spawn could have sounded had he been at the controls.

These three albums were the only ones Suffocation recorded for Roadrunner Records, but they are undoubtedly the band’s, nay the genre’s, best and were an unholy trinity that ensured the band’s legacy was built upon unshakable foundations.

• Jesus Wept: The Roadrunner Years is released via Cherry Red Records/Dissonance Productions on 27th February 2026.

Track List:

Disc One: Effigy Of The Forgotten

1. Liege Of Inveracity
2. Effigy Of The Forgotten
3. Infecting The Crypts
4. Seeds Of The Suffering
5. Habitual Infamy
6. Reincremation
7. Mass Obliteration
8. Involuntary Slaughter
9. Jesus Wept

Disc Two: Breeding The Spawn

1. Beginning Of Sorrow
2. Breeding The Spawn
3. Epitaph Of The Credulous
4. Marital Decimation
5. Prelude To Repulsion
6. Anomalistic Offerings
7. Ornaments Of Decrepancy
8. Ignorant Deprivation

Disc Three: Pierced From Within

1. Pierced From Within
2. Thrones Of Blood
3. Depths Of Depravity
4. Suspended In Tribulation
5. Torn Into Enthrallment
6. The Envoking
7. Synthetically Revived
8. Brood Of Hatred
9. Breeding The Spawn