Suicide Silence "Doris"

After endless gripe about the change in sound I just had to take time to hear what all the fuss was about. I usually wait for the full release to have an impression but with Alex Lopez talking trash to fans on Facebook directly (inappropriate) I had to get involved. Certainly, it couldn't be that bad could it? Suicide Silence with clean vocals? Oh no! It's an interesting attempt from Eddie, and Ross Robinson obviously challenged the man to step up his efforts. But at first listen and for a first single, there sure is a ton of riff raff on the track. The closing wail is probably something I've written in two out of the four metal bands I've personally been in as an amature so that's not a real promising transition to the next track either. 

     What's considered "clean singing" isn't that repulsive. It's not really transitioning the band from old territory to new. "Doris" is however, a bit poor in the songwriting department, as everything from the drums to the guitars are severely uninspiring. It does have a Korn vibe that can't be ignored, but the line "to give" or whatever he says at the beginning of the "clean part" is a little silly and done poorly. I like the band and everything they've had to overcome to even be a competitor in this scene, so I can see how this is technically necessary after a handful of releases.

     The biggest gripe is obviously Mitch's continued absence from the band. It's not so much that Eddie is doing something new here. Their last album and first with Eddie was great. But Mitch's vocals were truly something special. That snarl that he had on The Cleansing is impossible to replicate and although Eddie's done great things for the band and its fan base, it's more so that the vocals for Suicide used to be their own instrument. Mitch wasn't just another "death metal vocalist" with brutal gutturals. If that's your opinion, then you need to go back and revisit those first two albums. So it's obvious that what's going on in "Doris" will get instant scrutiny. I'm just worried that the full release won't matter to the catalogue at all the same way that It's Nothing Personal didn't matter to the Bury Your Dead discography. I guess we'll have to wait until February to find out.