Although music fans can now expect a live offering every other year, I’m old enough to remember when the live album was something special; a release that would commemorate a milestone in a band’s career. Well, American rock band The Funeral Portrait are taking things back to the old school with their first live outing, the cryptically-titled Greetings From Suffocate City. Formed in 2014, The Funeral Portrait have risen from opening act to become one of the scene’s most favourite bands, and as they continue their upward trajectory towards bona fide headliners, they mark this fork in the road with this live album/video which captures them at their blistering best.
There are some bands who have built their legacy on a fantastic live show; after all, that’s when many groups are at their most authentic, thriving in that one-shot-at-glory cauldron where reputations are won and lost, and The Funeral Portrait are one such band. Their explosive live show has made them a hot ticket, and with that comes a weight of expectation, but such is the fuel that feeds their fire that it has only served to hone their live attack and Greetings From Suffocate City bottles some of their live chutzpah. The songs comprising a good live album shouldn’t be mere facsimiles of their studio counterparts, rather they should place the listener in the eye of the storm, recreating that live experience; the sweat, the stage diving and the sing-alongs. Greetings From Suffocate City ticks all those boxes and opening shot ‘Generation Psycho’ fills the air with the same anticipation and excitement that the beginning of a good gig does. Of course, it helps that the band have built up an impressive discography and this album pretty much makes a pit stop at all points along their decade long career.
A major selling point of Greetings From Suffocate City is the production; it places the crowd prominently in the mix and their reaction when ‘Your So Ugly When You Cry’ pours from the speakers is spine tingling. It also feels as if there hasn’t been much retrospective tinkering going on here, the occasional bum note has been left in place and that helps make this album a genuine document. If you have seen The Funeral Portrait live then you’ll have a fair idea of what to expect from this album, if not Greetings From Suffocate City will have you picking up a ticket as soon as possible.
No Sleep ‘Til Hammersmith, Speak Of The Devil, Decade Of Aggression, the annuls of rock and metal are full of classic live albums…now you can add Greetings From Suffocate City to that illustrious list.
- Greetings From Suffocate City is released via Better Noise Music on 16th January 2026.
- Official Website
Track List:
CD version:
1. Generation Psycho
2. You’re So Ugly When You Cry
3. Paper Mache Man
4. Blood Mother
5. Voodoo Doll
6. Chernobyl
7. The Crash
8. Flowers In The Attic
9. Alien
10. Stay Weird
11. Dark Thoughts
12. Holy Water
13. Suffocate City
14. Casanova
Blu-Ray version:
1. Generation Psycho
2. You’re So Ugly When You Cry
3. Paper Mache Man
4. Blood Mother
5. Voodoo Doll
6. Chernobyl
7. The Crash
8. Flowers In The Attic
9. Alien
10. Stay Weird
11. Dark Thoughts
12. Holy Water
13. Suffocate City
