Following an important, but often overlooked first album, Long Island, New York's Suffocation really broke through to the underground metal masses with their sophomore Effigy of the Forgotten in 1991. A truly devastating display of technical death metal bordering on grindcore, this incredibly influential release opened the doors for an entire generation of extreme metal miscreants, who, in retrospect, made it the prevalent template for East Coast metal in the '90s. Matching impossibly guttural vocals with a bottom-heavy guitar foundation spewed forth at blistering speed and unparalleled brutality, Effigy's overwhelming, claustrophobic, and, well, suffocating rush, belies a surprisingly developed and, dare we say, 'sophisticated' sense of songwriting. Crushing examples like the title track, "Infecting the Crypts," and the masterful "Seeds of the Suffering" probably frightened many unprepared listeners with their unapologetically blunt approach. But Suffocation's gradual rise to prominence proves that even more listeners hung in there long enough to learn to appreciate the attention to detail and the hours of fascinating discovery to be found in the band's maniacally complex rhythms and lead and rhythm guitar acrobatics (note their astounding combination in the brilliantly titled "Reincremation"). Not for the weak of will, Effigy of the Forgotten is a death/grind tour de force.