2nd June 2024

Review: “Gristle, Bruised Spots, & Trimmed Fat” by Suffer

After eight long years in the wilderness focusing on other projects including Angerot and Empty Throne, the return of Sioux Falls, South Dakota Death Metal trio Suffer with a new EP and promise of a new album seemed like the building blocks of a nightmarish vision fueled by alcohol and LSD. But the truth is often stranger than fiction and “Gristle, Bruised Spots, & Trimmed Fat” did in point of fact pave the way for “Grand Canvas of the Aesthete” just three months later, both being mixed and mastered by Andreas Linnemann (Stench Collector, Baest, Hajn) at Hop House Studio.

Curiously while the band still refer to themselves as a trio, five musicians are credited with this work as guitarist and vocalist C.R. Petit, bassist Jason Ellsworth and drummer Rene Gerbrandij are joined by guitarist duo Justin Aeschliman and Daron Petit, the latter being accused of leads. A tune with a knowing smile that masks an evil grin “Human Primal Cuts” spits and snarls cannibalism as if human flesh were a secret ingredient in a Michelin star Chef’s main course. Accompanied by a tornado of percussive battery and Death Groove riffs for weeks, this one feels like Suffer have been listening to Carcass while awaiting their return. After that vicious introduction, “Indolent Quest For a Moral Compass” is a tale of surgery and dissection to accomplish a vision as the moral compass is led astray by the desire to create. Resistance is futile as the frenzy of riffs soak into the cerebral cortex, this low budget horror film soundtrack nasty the kind of twisted creation that Stephen King might think is a little more real. Crawling from the grave with an air of diseased majesty from the lead riffs, “Abhorrent Filth Disease” is the kind of mid tempo slow burn in the first couple of minutes that you’re just waiting to explode. That it does in chest bursting style with blast beats and rampaging riffs for a savage mid section before falling back, the ear worm main riff undeniable. The scorching solo is mesmerising, a final moment of hell escaping catharsis from a dark world. If only Dave Mustaine could snarl like this… [8/10]

Track Listing