"Blood Oath" represents the sixth studio album by the American death metal band SUFFOCATION, which was released on July 3, 2009, under the Nuclear Blast label. The recording sessions commenced on January 31, with Joe Cincotta, who had previously collaborated with the band on their last two albums. This album serves as a successor to the self-titled release from 2006 and was mixed by Zack Ohren, while the cover art was once again crafted by Jon Zig. Notably, this album marks the final contribution of drummer Mike Smith in his entirety. The track "Marital Decimation" is a re-recording of a song of the same name from the "Breeding The Spawn" album. In its debut week, the album sold 3,600 copies in the United States, achieving a position of 135 on the Billboard 200, marking Suffocation's inaugural entry into the Billboard charts.