Suffocation, by many, are considered to be legends in the Death Metal field. It’s an odd distinction for the band because their discography is not especially lengthy or deep and not all of those releases are of the same high quality, so what’s the big fuss about? Human Waste, despite being an EP, is one reason why the band is held in such high regard in the Death Metal field.

If Death Metal that makes your ears bleed and squishes your head to the size of peanut sounds appealing than Human Waste is for you. Despite the fact that the guitars are muddy, Human Waste quite possibly has one of the thickest, heaviest, and organ crushing guitar tones ever. To compliment the fanastic tone and production are great riffs. Hey, who would have thought that? The riffs are firmly rooted in old school Death Metal, afterall, this IS old school Death Metal and that means there are hints of Thrash. Human Waste also wins the award for the best use of blast beats by a Death Metal band. Instead of being used for an entire song, they’re used very quickly every now and then on every song. Instead of forming the basis of the music, the blasts are there to emphasize the brutality and aggression. The rest of the drumming is very Thrash-like. Since the riffs are also Thrash-based the drumming works perfectly and couldn’t be better. Frank Mullen handles the vocals and he is known for one of the best and most inhuman growls in the business. This is the standard for Death Metal growls and really shows how just like with clean singing, there are varying degrees of quality with Death Metal vocals. They are paced really well, deep but not unintelligible, and are just as forceful and aggressive as the music.

Yes, there are only 6 songs on this release, but the overall length is just under 30 minutes, which most Death Metal CD's are now a days, so don’t let the length or EP status deter you from this releases greatness. By todays standards Human Waste might not seem all that original but you have to remember that Suffocation were one of the first bands to successfully combine Death Metal with slight elements of Grindcore. Unlike what this genre has become with a lot of bands, that is too many blasts with a focus on speed rather than riff construction, this release always puts the riffs first and the drumming is very dynamic which makes this a purveyor of descively complex Brutal Death Metal.

Human Waste has the type of Death Metal songs that command you to head bang and never lets you rest for a second. When you think you can let up, you’re blindsided by more hard hitting greatness. If this was a full-length I really feel it would be held in the same regard as Seven Churches, Leprosy, Legion, Blessed Are The Sick, or Cause Of Death. However, since it’s not, all I can do is say that if you’re into Death Metal pick this understated and highly influential gem up as a not so gentle reminder about what made Death Metal so great in the first place. Also, from a historical perspective this was the first ever release by Relapse records.