Artist: Suicide Silence
Album: Graceless
Become graceless.
Of all the bands I’ve written articles for, Suicide Silence are arguably the ones that need introduction or preamble the absolute least. Since the early 2000s, they have been a band essentially synonymous with deathcore, and are, among all of the genre’s legacy bands, perhaps the most storied. I’d argue that even if you’ve somehow not heard songs from the band’s genre-defining debut EP, The Cleansing or No Time to Bleed, you’ve spent the last three years hearing just about every MySpace revival band give their version of cuts from any and all of those releases. It’s not the real thing, sure, but it lends weight to their influence. But with the band’s impact summarized, I’ll follow with an ugly question: when’s the last time a Suicide Silence has ended up high on your personal year-end list of favorite records? If I’m being honest about my own wrap-ups, it’s been at least since 2009—and even then, 2007’s The Cleansing probably takes their overall highest placement as what I’d consider to be the best record in a year that was packed with incredible releases, many of which having well stood the test of time. This isn’t to say Suicide Silence haven’t been releasing solid material, however. Their last two releases, Remember…You Must Die and Become the Hunter are both fine releases in their own right—they just seem to lack a certain je ne sais quoi that made the band’s 2000s material feel so different.
Enter Graceless. The band’s first full length record in about three and a half years, and their first record working with producers Hunter Young (PSYCHO-FRAME, Moodring, Digital Ghost Audio) and Austin Coupe (PSYCHO-FRAME, The Devil Wears Prada, Ninth Key). In so many words, if you—like many—have been experiencing a relative drought of Suicide Silence in your year-end album-of-the-year wrap ups, Graceless is the flood that is hellbent on undoing that drought. A crushing, horrifying culmination of finely-honed riffs, bone-grinding breakdowns, sprawling atmosphere and skin-peeling vocals, Graceless is the most forward, blistering and aggressive Suicide Silence since the band’s 2000s heyday, and is bar none the finest deathcore record to be released in 2026.
I think the best word to describe Graceless—and the way in which it is most differentiated from its recent predecessors—is that it is simply scary. With 11 tracks running just over 30 minutes in run time, Graceless is a rapid-fire salvo of immolating cuts with a very sparse, strategic layer of atmosphere divided throughout the release to ensure the heaviest parts hit hard while ensuring each track still has time to breathe. “Unenlightened” highlights this excellently, utilizing scathing riffs from guitarists Mark Heylmun and Chris Garza in crushing juxtaposition with goliath breakdowns with a near-tangible layer of dense, suffocating dread in the form of darker and grittier production than fans of Suicide Silence have heard from them in over a decade. Other songs—“NVRFXLD” and “Parasitic”—feel anthemic, boasting immense, break-neck instrumentation with an emphasis on skin-rending percussion from Ernie Iniguez and hefty bass from Dan Kenny. Across Graceless’ eleven tracks, the theme of intrusive, sinuous riffs and lead guitar work woven between absolutely and undeniably ruthless breakdowns is pervasive—but each track is home to at least one ear-worm lick or riveting moment such that every track feels distinct and unique from those that come before and after it. Whether its the non-stop pace of opening cut and lead single “Graceless,” the subtle industrial elements that build to a deafening roar on “Sour” (that then loops back perfectly into the opening track), the incredibly catchy fretwork abundant on “Parasitic” or “Incisions” or the anthemic nature of “NVRFXLD,” each track stands strongly on its own, with robust and ruthless instrumentation as a shining element in every song.
Another element where Suicide Silence have—of late—done fine but maybe not excellently has been their vocal element. Frontman Hernan “Eddie” Hermida is a talented vocalist, but songs from Remember…You Must Die and earlier records either failed to see him capitalize on the extent of his talent, or saw his talent used in a way that didn’t complement what Suicide Silence were doing at the time. The result was a lot of “fine” and “good” material but not a lot of “great” or “excellent.” This changes immensely on Graceless. With a renewed focus on creating misanthropic deathcore alongside Young and Coupe at the helm, Hermida’s voice is indomitable. Ear-piercing shrieks throughout “Graceless,” “Make Your Exit” and “Parasitic” shine in contrast against gurgling, guttural bellows in “Cursed Since Birth” and “Devoured Dreams.” However, it isn’t just Hermida’s range that dominates on Graceless—for the first time since No Time to Bleed, Suicide Silence are catchy again. Lines and cadences from “Rotting Inside,” “Cursed Since Birth,” “Parasitic” and the anthemic “NVRFXLD” have been stuck in my head for weeks now, and are sure to be stuck in yours too—as Hermida offers a perfect lyrical and vocal complement to Suicide Silence’s hellish, unrelenting soundscape.
There are a lot of additional things that could be added to this review or said about Suicide Silence’s Graceless. One could take the position that this is the answer to almost five years of The Cleansing clones that have popped up as part of the MySpace deathcore revival. One could make unending comparisons to the band’s early material—and while I think context for a band like Suicide Silence is important—that, for lack of a better term, seems dumb to me. Graceless is an immense record; the riffs hit hard, the breakdowns level mountains, the drums are fast and the vocals are pissed, all produced in a way that gives a gritty, raw and dense feel imbued with just the tiniest dose of nostalgia. For those who have been waiting—or even given up—on Suicide Silence making a true-blue, real-deal return to form, this is it. Graceless is an inexorable slab of festering, lurid deathcore that will undoubtedly stand the test of time and serve as a touchstone for the next deathcore revival due sometime in the mid-2030s.
10/10
For Fans Of: Whitechapel, PSYCHO-FRAME, Mauled, Chelsea Grin
By: Connor Welsh