Frank Mullen

Francis Eugene Mullen (born January 2, 1970) is the former vocalist of the American technical death metal band Suffocation. He is one of the first vocalists to introduce low-pitched guttural vocals into the death metal genre.[1] Mullen performed and recorded with the band from 1989 to 2018.

For other people named Frank Mullen, see Frank Mullen (disambiguation).
Frank Mullen
Mullen at the 2014 Free & Easy Festival.
Born (1970-01-02) January 2, 1970
Spouse(s)
Natalie Henriquez
​
(m. 2019)​
Musical career
GenresDeath metal, technical death metal
InstrumentsVocals
Years active1988–1998, 2003–2018
LabelsRelapse (1991, 1998, 2004–2007)
Roadrunner (1991–1996)
Nuclear Blast (2008–2018)
Associated actsSuffocation

Early life

Mullen was born on January 2, 1970, and grew up in Long Island, New York.[2] He became a fan of metal music from a young age and was initially attracted to albums like Slayer’s Hell Awaits and Exodus's Bonded by Blood because their album cover art.[3] Mullen met band mates Terrance Hobbs and Mike Smith in high school and they formed a metal cover band called Wombrot in which he initially played bass.[3]

Career

In 1989, Mullen, Hobbs (guitarist), and Smith (drummer) formed the metal band Suffocation with bassist Josh Barohn and guitarist Doug Cerrito.[4][5]

Suffocation released a six-song EP Human Waste in 1991.[6] The EP was one of the first records released by Relapse Records.[6] Their first feature-length album Effigy of the Forgotten was released the same year by Roadrunner Records.[4][5] The album featured Mullen's distinct low-pitched guttural vocals.[5] According to the Long Island Music Hall of Fame, which the band was inducted into in 2012, "Suffocation created a blueprint for death metal with its guttural vocals, downtuned guitar sounds, and fast and complex guitar riffs and drumming."[7]

The band released their second full album Breeding the Spawn in 1993.[8] The album was criticized for "its short length", "its perceived repetition of the predecessor's overall formula" and a "muddy final mix".[8] The band has since re-recorded many of the songs from the album on subsequent albums.[9] In 1995, they released Pierced From Within, "one of Suffocation's strongest albums", according to Rolling Stone.[10] The band recorded an EP, Despise the Sun, in 1998 and released it through their band management company Vulture but it was not in wide circulation.[11] Despise the Sun featured a different drummer, Dave Culross, who would later again replace Smith in 2012.[12]

Terrance Hobbs, Derek Boyer, and Mullen in 2010

Suffocation subsequently broke up and did not reunite until 2002; that year Relapse Records re-released Despise the Sun. The newly re-established band included Mullen, Hobbs, Smith and Barohn, with new band member Guy Marchais, previously with the bands Pyrexia and Internal Bleeding.[11] In April 2004, the band released Souls to Deny before switching bassists to Derek Boyer from the band Decrepit Birth. They entered a period of heavy touring before releasing the self-titled album Suffocation in September 2006.[11]

In 2009, Mullen was the vocalist on Blood Oath which the band released with the record label Nuclear Blast. His brutal guttural growls were particularly noted on the song "Come Hell or High Priest".[13] Pitchfork said of Mullen's vocals, while "he spews tales of madness, megalomania, and paranoia", his "growls are surprisingly understandable".[14]

Mullen and Guy Marchais in 2014

After the release of the 2013 album Pinnacle of Bedlam, Mullen announced that he will retire from full-time touring from the band. Pinnacle of Bedlam saw the return of drummer Culross to the band since his previous appearance on Despise the Sun.[15][16] Mullen and Hobbs became the only remaining original members of the band after the departure of Smith in 2012,[16] and were joined on the band's 2017 album, ...Of the Dark Light, with guitarist Charlie Errigo, bassist Derek Boyer and drummer Eric Morotti.[10]

Mullen retired from his musical career after a final tour with Suffocation, dubbed the Farewell Frank Tour. He made his final U.S. appearance as the lead vocalist for the band in their performance at Nightclub Reverb in Reading, Pennsylvania on November 17, 2018. Mullen's performance featured plenty of his signature stage move, the death chop, from which the tour gets its tagline, Death Chopping North America.[10] He was succeeded as lead vocalist for Suffocation by Rick Myers,[17] who on several occasions had filled-in for him. Mullen later reprised his role for the band's Japanese tour in 2019 before again relinquishing the position to Myers.[18]

Personal life

Mullen enjoys listening to several different types of music. When interviewed on the question of what particular taste he has in what he listens to, he responded with, "I don't know, I mean I listen to a little bit of everything, I'm a big fan of like Stevie Ray Vaughan, Run-DMC, old hard rock, The Who, The Doors, Janet Jackson, Zeppelin."[19]

Mullen is an atheist; he has said "I don't believe in [one or the other religion]. So my religious views are on, I guess, an atheist point."[20]

In July 2019, Mullen married Natalie Henriquez. During their wedding, he sang "Entrails of You", a "love song" from Suffocation's 2006 self-titled album. Mullen shared a video of the performance on his Facebook fan page and garnered more than 120,000 views.[21]

References
  1. Kelly, Kim (2018-08-09). "Death Metal Is Getting Old". Vice. Retrieved 2019-12-10.
  2. "Frank Mullen". Encyclopaedia Metallum: The Metal Archives. 2011-04-10. Retrieved 2019-12-10.
  3. Connie Henriquez & Chrissy Bogue (May 7, 2019). Date Night with Connie & Chrissy | Band: Suffocation | Death Metal Music (Video). YouTube.
  4. Hartmann, Graham (January 11, 2012). "Suffocation Bassist Reveals Details for Face-Melting 2012 Album". Loudwire. Retrieved 2019-12-10.
  5. Stewart-Panko, Kevin (2009-05-01). "Suffocation - "Effigy of the Forgotten"". Decibel Magazine. Retrieved 2019-12-10.
  6. "Human Waste - Suffocation | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2019-12-10.
  7. "Suffocation". Long Island Music Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2019-12-10.
  8. "Breeding the Spawn - Suffocation | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2019-12-10.
  9. Briel, Ridge (2013-03-12). "Interview w/ Suffocation by Ridge Briel". New Noise Magazine. Retrieved 2019-12-10.
  10. Shteamer, Hank (2018-11-19). "Farewell, Frank Mullen: Suffocation's Death-Metal Maestro Goes Out on Top". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2019-12-10.
  11. Sharpe-Young, Garry (2007). Metal: The Definitive Guide : Heavy, NWOBH, Progressive, Thrash, Death, Black, Gothic, Doom, Nu. Jawbone Press. pp. 194–95. ISBN 978-1-906002-01-5.
  12. Hartmann, Graham (2012-12-13). "Suffocation Members Talk 'Pinnacle of Bedlam,' Future of Vocalist Frank Mullen + More". Loudwire. Retrieved 2019-12-10.
  13. Falzon, Denise (2009-07-09). "Suffocation Blood Oath". exclaim.ca. Retrieved 2019-12-10.
  14. Lee, Cosmo (2009-07-20). "Suffocation: Blood Oath". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2019-12-10.
  15. Brown, Dean (2013-04-22). "Suffocation: Pinnacle of Bedlam". PopMatters. Retrieved 2019-12-10.
  16. Hartmann, Graham (2012-12-14). "Suffocation Unleash Track 'As Grace Descends' From 2013 Album 'Pinnacle of Bedlam'". Loudwire. Retrieved 2019-12-10.
  17. Schlechter, Kira L. (2018-11-15). "Suffocation frontman calling it a career after Saturday's show in Reading". Reading Eagle. Retrieved 2019-12-10.
  18. Hadusek, Jon (2019-08-02). "Ex-Suffocation frontman Frank Mullen sings "Entrails of You" at own wedding reception: Watch". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 2019-12-10.
  19. Scott, Scott (March 26, 2009). "Exclusive Interview With Suffocation Frontman Frank Mullen". Metal Martyr. Archived from the original on 2009-04-03. Retrieved 2019-12-09.
  20. Smith, Warren Allen (2003). Celebrities in Hell. Fort Lee, New Jersey: Barricade Books. p. 83. ISBN 9781569802144. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
  21. Hartmann, Graham (2019-08-01). "Suffocation's Frank Mullen Performs Gutturals at His Own Wedding". Loudwire. Retrieved 2019-12-10.
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