It's been a good six years since Suffocation, one of the most revered death metal bands to come from New York, released their last album, "... Of The Dark Light." There are those who wondered if it would ever happen, what with the departure of beloved vocalist Frank Mullen and the group's focus on live shows. But finally, the band are set to release their ninth studio album, "Hymns From The Apocrypha," a title which continues Suffocation's tradition of making fans reach for the nearest dictionary. So now that the record is on the brink of release, was it worth the wait? Well...

Right away, it needs to be said that the album probably won't appeal much to people who aren't into brutal death metal. It's very much in the brutal/technical vein and doesn't really utilise anything outside of that bubble, except maybe deathcore, a genre Suffocation more or less invented. This is nothing new for the band, but on "Hymns From The Apocrypha," it becomes a detriment, with songs like "Perpetual Deception" and "Seraphim Enslavement" feeling painfully generic. These songs in particular feel like they're trapped within genre limitations and go precisely nowhere.

Of course, the biggest talking point going into this album is the recording debut of vocalist Ricky Myers, who's been performing with Suffocation since 2014 when he was first hired as a live vocalist. His performance is fine for the most part, not standing out as delivering anything special, but he was always going to be in a difficult position replacing Mullen, one of the most recognised voices in death metal. There are times though when his delivery isn't especially interesting, at times even annoying, such as "Descendants" where the vocals are dragging down the song, though it's far from Suffocation's best work to begin with.

Needless to say, it would be totally unfair to blame Myers for the album's shortcomings. He's always been known as more of a drummer than a vocalist and there are a few pretty good songs, mostly at the end of the album in the forms of "Embrace The Suffering" and "Delusions Of Mortality." The former is noteworthy for its better structure than most, if not all of the other tracks, containing a little more harmony and a cool guitar solo. Following tradition since their return in 2002, the record ends with a re-recording of an older song, this time it's "Ignorant Deprivation" from the "Breeding The Spawn" album. Previously these have been nice bonuses, but this time it might not have been the best choice since it demonstrates a gulf in quality between old songs and new and Myers sounds like he's really struggling to perform the track.

So, while "Hymns From The Apocrypha" has some bright spots, they're pretty few and far between. It's a bog standard album from a band who's done so much for death metal and it's disappointing to hear them release an album that seems either phoned in or lacking in fresh ideas. One wonders if they would have been better off remaining a live band, but then, if an artist feels the need to create, or explore new possibilities then why not? Devotees of the band and genre will probably disagree with this review, but even the most loyal fan should be able to hear that this is far from their best work.