Dawn/TheMetalWeb.com: With the band disbanding in 1998 due to “lots of battles within the band” as quoted by Terrance Hobbs (guitarist), what do you feel was the driving force behind your decision to call and resurrect the band for a new release after what seemed like a decade. That had to be tough. Especially with not knowing how the other members felt at that time.   

Frank Mullen: Yes, it was tough. I was not sure what the response would be from everybody. I had just gone through a divorce and I was living out in Las Vegas at the time and I said there was only two things that I loved doing in my life and that was being married, having my family and Suffocation. So I said when the one thing was gone maybe the other guys feel the same way I do, maybe they don’t. So I figured I would give it a shot and just see what I got back from them. If they all told me “nah, we tried doing it before and we just don’t want to go down that road again”, I would of said fine, and I would have gone on with my life doing whatever I was doing. So I said let me call and let me see what happens. Mike was one of the first people that I called, Mike and Terrance both around the same time. They were both very interested in doing it. They said, “yeah, sure if we could put it together, let’s do it”. I tried calling Doug and Chris Richards but they never returned any of my phone calls.

Dawn/TheMetalWeb.com: Why do you think that was?

Frank Mullen:  I really don’t know. Maybe it was more or less they kind of felt like why is Frank trying to do it again and nobody else decided to approach anybody on it. Some of them have their pride maybe and they did not want to feel like they were invited back into trying to do it.

Dawn/TheMetalWeb.com: Well it was quite a while before you called them correct? You had not spoken to them.

Frank Mullen: It was a while. I had called and left messages specifically stating. Doug Cerritos is hard to get in touch with. He does not necessarily return phone calls all the time. But I figured I was leaving him messages totally outlining what I was planning on doing. So, if he had any interest in it at all I am sure that he would have called back. Maybe he also did not want it.

Dawn/TheMetalWeb.com: I was just going to say that this life is not for everybody.

Frank Mullen: I know they have their own band and have for the last couple of years. Its Chris Richards, Doug Cerritos and Doug Bohn. They have been looking for a singer and just have not been able to lock one down and it’s not necessarily death metal. So I don’t know. Maybe they just didn’t want anything to do with Suffocation itself getting back together.  

Dawn/TheMetalWeb.com: Suffocation has had so many changes throughout the years with one being the resigning to Relapse Records. How have things been so far in working with the label again and what were the surrounding circumstances behind leaving Roadrunner? It was rumored that the band was dropped from the label.

Frank Mullen: Yes, we were dropped from Roadrunner. It was right after “Pierced From Within”. We were one of the last people to actually hang around on that label if you remember, back at that time. So many bands were being dropped, they were dropping like flies. At one point, they were cleaning house and I think Suffocation, Deicide and a few others were one of the last ones to actually stay. After “Pierced From Within”, a little while after that they told us they were not going to push for another album for us and then we were basically dropped and released from our obligations with them.

Now resigning with Relapse, it has been working really well. They are one of the biggest labels for this type of music. They are all about the music and not necessarily about the dollar sign and that’s what works very well. They assured us when we came on that they were going to do everything in their power to make us a top priority on the label and that is what we wanted to hear. Not just a label telling you “yeah, we’ll put it together” and you are kind of put on the side somewhere and when they get to you, they get to you. They’ve made us a big priority on the label and it feels great. They’ve been doing a really nice job with everything.

Dawn/TheMetalWeb.com: They are great people too. That’s another thing that you need on your side, not just the label pushing you, but the people behind the label.

Frank Mullen: Right and I have known Matt for a very long time. It was no problem talking to him and it feels just like talking to a friend of yours when you call him up and ask him something. So, the relationships been great with Relapse.        

Dawn/TheMetalWeb.com: Another new element to the band is “Derek Boyer”. How did his recruitment come to be and how do you feel he solidifies the band as opposed to past bassists?

Frank Mullen: What happened was Josh Barohn was in the band again for a little while and unfortunately with Josh Barohn, this is not his type of lifestyle. He cannot be in this lifestyle because he has difficulty with the surroundings.

Dawn/TheMetalWeb.com: Surroundings meaning? Do you mean on the road touring?

Frank Mullen: Well not necessarily that. Just the surroundings of bad influences and stuff that are around. He also has health issues and stuff like that. We tried working around it in the beginning, it just went out of control and it got progressively worse. So, I had to talk to him and tell him either you got to shape up or it’s just going to be it. He did not adhere to any of the warnings that were being put forward and we had to let him go unfortunately.

Derek Boyer, we have known him for a very long time. I’ve known him from back in the early ‘90’s when we use to play California, out in Corona and San Diego. He would come out to all the shows and then running into him on the road playing with various different bands. We always knew he was a very talented, very sick bass player. We saw him at the Vital Remains show, we talked to him for a little bit and then when we knew things were sketchy and Josh was on his way out, we contacted him and asked if he was interested. He said “hell yeah!” and flew right out, tried out and we liked what we saw. He is a permanent member of the band and I think he adds a lot to this band. I think he makes it full. Suffocation has always been about writing technical music and I think he can definitely carry the weight of that.

Dawn/TheMetalWeb.com: I will have to check him out. I have never seen him with you guys. You guys are playing Hellfest, right? I may be covering that show so I’ll definitely have to check you out.

Frank Mullen: Yes, we are. Yes, definitely check us out. It will definitely be worth it. (Laughs)         

Dawn/TheMetalWeb.com: When recording for “Souls to Deny”, the band served as both producer and engineer rather than having an outside source. What contributed to this decision and do you feel this has helped with the result of what the band wanted to achieve with this record?

Frank Mullen: Mike has background in recording. Terrance has background in recording. In the earlier days, we used Scott Burns who is amazing. We just felt that we have enough knowledge, and enough ability to know what we want in an album and what we want the album to sound like. We felt we could go in there and pretty much do it ourselves. It was Joe Cincotta’s studio. He’s up and coming as far as trying to get bigger bands in there and trying to become a big time death metal, extreme metal recording studio. He also plays bass for Catastrophic and he does our live sound. It worked out very well. We were able to go in there and put it together the way that we wanted it to sound. We wanted the heaviness. We wanted to really make it sound heavy and brutal.

Dawn/TheMetalWeb.com: It came out great! I really liked it and I’m a tough critic. (Laughs) I always try to find the flaws and honestly, it sounded great.

Frank Mullen: (Laughs) Thank you. We were happy with the fact that we could go in there and do it the way that we wanted to do it. In the earlier days, we did not know that much about recording. It was all new to us.

Dawn/TheMetalWeb.com: Well things were a lot different then too, equipment wise. You did not have the things that you have today back then.

Frank Mullen: Right. With the way computers are now, so many people are recording and mixing on their home laptop. Compared to back in the day when you needed a studio pretty much to go in and be able to do everything and everything was on reels back then.  (Laughs)

Dawn/TheMetalWeb.com: A lot of things have changed. (Laughs) But, for the better. After being away from the band for quite some time, did you feel that the overall writing process came naturally for “Souls to Deny” or was it something that came back over time or did the band do things all together differently this time upon entering the studio? Wow, I had to take a breath there! (Laughs) I write them good.

Frank Mullen: (Laughs) Right, you have a little bit of everything. That was a long one. It has always been pretty natural, where we get together and once we start playing, the music just seems to come together very quickly in a way. We try to take our time with things. We do not want to put out something just to put out something. We take our time in putting it together and making it the best possible way that we can. Writing for us, it just seems to click. Terrence had some material written from the time that he wasn’t playing, when Suffocation was not together. He had some rhythms that were kicking around in his head because he is always writing, he’s always playing so he had stuff that was floating around and we used a lot of that. Mike is very good at writing. Guy came in and he added an element that was maybe a little different then Doug Cerritos. So, yeah it pretty much came together very nicely. We did not really have to push that hard or it did not seem like we were trying to find something. It seemed like “alright, now we’re ready for the next song”. We were able to put it together relatively quick for Suffocation standards. Most of time it usually takes us two years to put out an album with touring and stuff like that. We got back together and when we locked down on it, we put this album together in eight months.             

Dawn/TheMetalWeb.com: That’s great though considering there was a time lapse. That’s great just to be able to fall right back into it naturally like you guys never missed a beat. Some of these bands, when their away and get back together, the chemistry is not there and it falls apart.

Dawn/TheMetalWeb.com: I found “Souls to Deny” and “Deceit” to be strong tracks off the album. What in your point of view makes a great Suffocation song?

Frank Mullen: To me a great Suffocation song is all the elements that Suffocation delivers. That’s speed, technicality, harmonies and the heavy breakdowns. That is what defines Suffocation and that to me is what Suffocation is. I would agree, those two songs are very brutal. I love the last song “Tomes of Acrimony”. That’s what Suffocation is. It’s being as brutal as we possibly can and doing it in a way that is technical, but you can listen to it and you can understand it. We try not to do something that’s too fast and too mind boggling for you. We want to hit you with something heavy, crazy, but you can listen to it, understand it, and go “yeah, those guys are sick!”

Dawn/TheMetalWeb.com: What is the significance of the album title and track “Souls to Deny” or what would you like it to portray?

Frank Mullen: Basically “Souls to Deny” is a way of saying that no matter how good you’ve lived your life or what kind of path you choose in living your life, that if there is such a place where souls reside later on, that no matter what its been pre-determined that your soul will not make it there. That your soul will be caught in limbo somewhere and no matter what you do to change your life or make it worse, that your soul will never make it there. Your soul will eternally be wrapped up somewhere where it’s just floating in emptiness.

Dawn/TheMetalWeb.com: Can you tell me about the storyline behind your latest video “Surgery of Impalement”, and why the band chose the Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia as the location when shooting the footage? I have to know. (Laughs)

Frank Mullen: (Laughs) Relapse had thrown that out there. They said, “we have a really cool location”. When they told us about it, we said that sounds great. I did a little research on it. “Surgery of Impalement” is all about inner demons, trapped up inside of you. We felt like maybe that’s a good place to put it because that place will make you go crazy. (Laughs) With the total solitary confinement, it’s totally sick and sick looking. You can only imagine what was going on inside their heads when they were locked up in that place.

Dawn/TheMetalWeb.com: It’s a perfect song for it. (Laughs) I have a strange question for you, speaking of which, did you find any paranormal activity while filming for the video? I’m asking because that particular penitentiary is said to be haunted stemming from the severe torturing of inmates at the hands of prison guards in the late 1800’s. (Laughs) I thought you would get a kick out of that question.

Frank Mullen: I did not see any paranormal activity but I wish I had seen some. (Laughs) You hear strange noises but you don’t know if that’s necessarily the wind or not.

Dawn/TheMetalWeb.com: It’s them! (Laughs) I believe in that stuff.

Frank Mullen:  (Laughs) You do hear some strange noises going on in that place. I did not see any ghosts. I wish I would have. That would have just intensified my experience there.

Dawn/TheMetalWeb.com: And on film. (Laughs) Ya know, have a little ghost behind you. That would have been cool.

Frank Mullen:  (Laughs) Yeah, it was a very intense place, very sick. Then actually too, later on I was playing a video game on play station II called “The Suffering”. It’s all about some guy that is in prison, he goes completely insane, and he is trying to find his way out of the prison by killing all these demons. At the end of that, they do a whole little footage on the Eastern State Penitentiary. You can unlock it and there’s a fifteen-minute segment talking about Eastern State Penitentiary, and that the game was derived from that place.   

Dawn/TheMetalWeb.com:  Well strangely enough, I had just read something about that place right before I started doing my homework as you can tell from my questions, their not your average, easy questions to answer. (Laughs) But, hey, that makes for a good interview. You don’t want someone asking you “so, what kind of underwear do you wear on tour?” (Laughs) Some interviewers get so...

Frank Mullen: (Laughs) You do so many interviews that a lot times it gets...

Dawn/TheMetalWeb.com: Repetitive? I know.

Frank Mullen: Yeah repetitive. (Laughs)  It’s good for a change to hear different questions.

Dawn/TheMetalWeb.com:  Your European tour in support of “Souls to Deny” just ended and I see that you have a few select dates for the US, but when can the fans expect an extensive US tour?

Frank Mullen: Before the European tour, we did a US tour with Morbid Angel. That went totally brutal. Your located in Jersey, we played BB Kings in the city.

Dawn/TheMetalWeb.com: Yeah, I was suppose to cover that show but could not make it. Coming back? (Laughs)

Frank Mullen: (Laughs) That was the closest show that we played over here on that tour and it was packed.

Dawn/TheMetalWeb.com: They have a great stage!

Frank Mullen: Amazing! The show was great. The whole tour with Morbid Angel went great. It was an amazing tour and had a really cool turn out. We had a great time. Then we went and did the European tour. We played a couple festivals over there. We played the Graspop Festival. That was insane. It was crazy, looking out and seeing 10,000 people. As of now, we are doing these few select dates over here and then probably in September or October, we are looking to get back out and do another US tour.

Dawn/TheMetalWeb.com: Starting in any particular city or you do not have that in mind yet?  

Frank Mullen: No, nothing totally locked down yet. We are not sure, if we will be headlining or be direct support to somebody.

Dawn/TheMetalWeb.com: Over the years with being on the road and touring as long as you guys have, I am sure you have some good tour stories to share. Are there any good, funny or bad tour stories that you would care to share with your fans? Give us your best! 

Frank Mullen: Our first tour that we did back in I believe it was ’93, was very crazy because it was new to us. In Holland, you were allowed to smoke weed right out in front of everybody. We do not really have any crazy stories. We pretty much just go out on the road and have a good time and party.

There was one time when some bad stuff happened. We were on our second European tour, it was during the winter and the heat went down on the bus. We were sleeping in sweatpants, sweatshirts, long johns, hooded sweatshirts and it was freezing. The next morning when I woke up there was a soda bottle and it was frozen. Another time the bus was confiscated so we had to drive around in one of those tiny little cars with a rack truck. We have had some bad things happen like that. We were always famous for the “rider truck” tours. When we were up and coming and you could not necessarily afford a tour bus, we’d set-up a rider truck with the inside as a tour bus. You add some bunks in there and you travel around in style like that.

Dawn/TheMetalWeb.com: Do you miss those days? (Pauses and then Laughs) I’m only kidding.

Frank Mullen: No. No way. (Laughs) I had some fun times but there is no way I could do that anymore. I’m too old to be laying on floors in the back of a rider truck. (Laughs)           

Dawn/TheMetalWeb.com: Well thanks to you for making that initial call to the band because the new albums great! Suffocation seems to be reinvented in all aspects, with “Souls to Deny” being a great testament to that reinvention! Thanks again for the interview. With that said, do you have any final words for
The Metal Web!?

Frank Mullen: Thank you. Thank you very much for the continued support that our fans have shown us in the times that we were here and the times we were not. We plan on bringing you and delivering all brutal albums to come. Dawn, I will see you at Hellfest. 


OFFICIAL SITE “SUFFOCATION”: http://www.suffocation.us


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