Through different practices of establishing oppressive darkness, it is not unreasonable to consider Primitive Man and Full of Hell were actually churned out of the same furnace. The main distinction is of course the speed of each band's material, the former stomps an overwhelmingly heavy and slow doom metal palette, while the latter skins sound to its extreme with fast paced grindcore. Common ground is found - which is also what distinguishes both from the larger part of the aforementioned genre families - in the excessive use of noise and power electronics.
Once noticing a collaboration album between these two artists, it feels like such an act was just bound to happen eventually, especially among such like-minded individuals. Suffocating Hallucination is characterised by a thick, impenetrable, ugly and intimidating atmosphere, as it is met in the works of both bands.
It is a record that features both their capabilities under the same blanket, yet each respective identity somehow stays intact, and you can be pretty sure of what material was written by which of the two. The vocals also swap between Primitive Man’s growls and Full of Hell’s screaming, but in terms of tempo compromises, most of the record is middle to slow paced with a few distinct faster moments.
The listener gets what was promised with Suffocating Hallucination, as it ticks boxes for: an ultra speedy, 25 second track “Bludgeon” as the stamp of Full of Hell, a dark ambient / noise texture interlude “Dwindling Will”, a painfully decelerated Primitive Man anthem “Trepanation of Future Joys” and the clearest amalgam of the two projects, “Rubble Home”. At the longest piece, the closing “Tunnels to God”, it is the first time we witness these otherwise gruesome bands adopts more melancholic nuances through the fog and the noise, as the song slowly progresses and deconstructs itself.
Such attempts substantiate the inspirational drive behind the creation of Suffocating Hallucination and save the record from being obsolete, as all the pieces are here, hideously refreshed and promptly served on a plate. As a follower of Primitive Man and Full of Hell by now, I see merit in both sides and acknowledge this work, as one of the better collaboration examples lately.
DAMAGE: 3.75/5 [Great]
Release date: 03 Mar 2023
Release label: Closed Casket Activities
Listen: Bandcamp
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