FROM THE CRYPTS - CELEBRATING PAST ALBUM RELEASES in the HISTORY of HARD ROCK & HEAVY METAL…
On October 28, 2008, Beneath the Massacre released their second full-length studio album Dystopia via Prosthetic Records.
The song Never More is a re-recorded version of the track of the same name found on their first EP, Evidence of Inequity.
"The songs are by far the weirdest, most intense songs we have ever written. It's great to finally listen to all the crazy ideas we had... After six weeks of intense tracking, we're also relieved that's it's all done. The writing process was hard and exhausting since we wrote most of it on the road, but we can now say that it worth it and we cannot wait to release the album and play the new songs on our upcoming tour." — Elliot Desgagnés
On July 3, 2008, a message was posted on Beneath the Massacre's official website about the first in a series of in-studio videos featuring footage from Northern Studio.
On August 14, 2008, a message was posted on Beneath the Massacre's official website regarding the second video for the making of Dystopia, featuring bass and guitar recording sessions, and also a link to Prostheric Records pre-order the album, which were available on CD and vinyl formats.
Critical Reception:
Upon its release, Dystopia received good reviews with Chad Bowar of About.com stating; “A year after their last CD, Canadian Technical Death Metallers Beneath The Massacre kept the team intact for Dystopia. They once again used Yannick St. Amand (Despised Icon, Ion Dissonance) to produce and Alan Douches (Mastodon, Hatebreed) to master. This time around they used Jason Suecof (Trivium, All That Remains) to mix the CD.
The band's songwriting has matured a bit, but Dystopia is pretty similar to Mechanics Of Dysfunction. The songs are packed with highly technical riffs and skillful guitar work from Christopher Bradley. Periodic breakdowns add a bit of 'core to the mix.
The tempos on Dystopia are fast, but there are slightly more slower parts this time around. Songs like Lithium Overdose have extended breakdowns that slow the speed down to a crawl without any drop in intensity.
Elliot Desgagnes vocal performance has improved as well. His Death Metal growls are angry and passionate and he uses a bit more range than he has on past releases. Beneath The Massacre still needs more uniqueness to really excel in the Death Metal genre, but their technical wizardry will keep their momentum moving forward, at least for a while.”
While Sacha Dunable of lambgoat.com wrote on 12/21/2008; “I recently saw an old Napalm Death interview where Shane Embury explains his view of the band as being the end of the road, saying that music couldn't possibly get any more extreme. How could he have known that somewhere down the line, metal would evolve the way it did, and that bands would be juxtaposing the raw speed and heaviness of what he was doing with the technical bedroom shredding of someone like Michael Angelo Batio, creating an arguably more extreme form of metal. Shane Embury, meet Beneath The Massacre.
Beneath The Massacre's 2005 EP Evidence Of Inequity was certainly a high point in modern death metal. Until then, few bands had such a streamlined vision and execution of the million-note-a-minute technical death/core style. Now on their second full-length, Dystopia, they stick with what they know, and they do it really fucking well.
The record wastes absolutely no time getting to the point, as Condemned kicks right off with a 200+ beats per minute tornado of blasting and finger tapping, and doesn't really let up for the entirety of the album. The band comes up for air once or twice a song for a breakdown, and that is pretty much the formula. Melody is of no interest to Beneath The Massacre. Evoking the adrenaline-fueled urge to beat someone with a blunt object seems to be more their thing.
One of the most impressive parts of this band is the drumming. Considering how this music can be so one-dimensional and inherently void of dynamics, Justin Rouselle manages to color up the sound using tasteful cymbal accents, fairly original fills, and most importantly, a variety of blast beats. If you're going to be blasting 50% of the time, you had better keep it interesting so as not to numb the listener. Justin seems to have an understanding of that rule, shown by the constant flipping and double timing of his blasts. Without all that, it might have been difficult to take this whole album in one sitting.
Christopher Bradley's guitar playing is once again an obsessive and meticulous display of shreddery, and though it gets a bit tiresome after 35 minutes, it serves the purpose of setting the cold, harsh tone in Beneath The Massacre's music. Hats off to Jason Suecof as well for providing a nice mix that, while obviously dealing with a band whose mechanical and precise production values are lent to their overall sound, still recognizes that a drum kit should sound something like actual drums.”
Bottom line: Chances are most people know who Beneath The Massacre are and what they do. If this is your thing, you will probably love this album. If it isn't, I'd still recommend a listen, just to say you've heard some of the most extreme music out there.
Note: The reviews shared here are for historical reference. The views and opinions expressed within are not always supported (in full or in part) by Into the Wells. — E.N. Wells
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