Mechanics of Dysfunction

Before "Mechanics of Dysfunction" ever came into my hands, I practically didn't know anything about Beneath the Massacre. A couple of reviews that I've read talked mostly about their previous album "Evidence of Inequity", and MP3s that you could listen to were not enough to come up with some kind of an opinion about this band. Well, what I'm trying to say is that, without any warning and with no mercy, I was slammed against the floor...

If I had to describe my first impression in one sentence, I'd probably say something like: completely destructive typhoon of technical extravagance, absurd perfection that is at the same time uniquely chaotic. After an introduction like this, I couldn't stop myself from further exploring this album, again and again, of course. The problem is that after every time that I listened to it, something was missing. Then it finally hit me - there was not a single solo on this album! Stuff like this should just not happen, not to a band like this. Then I noticed that the bass line was almost inaudible, as if the band concentrated on the speed and intensity of the music, forgetting about the overall effect. Drumming is unbelievably fast, very precise, sometimes maybe even too precise - almost as if it was a program, that goes on and on, like a robot, fast, steady, even, but not very exciting. Also, even though I am a huge fan of growling, in this case, the vocals disappointed me. In every song, they are the same, predictable, and after a while, they become monotonous and boring. The guitar sound and technicality you can almost compare to Necrophagist - music is aggressive and brutal, underlined with techno-progressive and black-metal accents.

Although these guys are very, very tight somehow they missed the fact that speed is not everything. The songs on this album blend into one another - there really isn't much to differ one piece from the next one - no memorable riffs, no solos, no crushing breakdowns, it's very uniform throughout, almost seamless.

To sum it up - if you're looking for fast and furious - this is something worth your while. If you're looking for brutal and aggressive you will also find it here. As for me, I'll wait for their next release, because somehow I know they will make it 100 times better.

(Originally written for www.metalbite.com)

I decided to go a little back in time to check out previous releases that might be able to change my mind about Beneath The Massacre, since Dystopia was terribly lame, so I ended up purchasing Mechanics of Dysfunction. It's nothing really special, but it's definitely worth the 6 bucks I spent on it.

Let me start with the vocalist. I'm not sure how scene kids define vocals. I've heard them talk about concepts such as ''highs'' or ''lows'' or ''cleans'', and they use the term ''vocal range'' a lot. But I think this guy uses too many ''lows''. Meaning that you'll mostly hear the vocalist growling as deep as possible. He sounds acceptable and the vocals go along with the music, sounding deep and very death metal-ish in all the songs so I won't complain as much except for the fact that he sounds kind of annoying after a while

Guitar-wise, this release offers much more than their later album Dystopia, with some properly executed guitar leads and MEMORABLE grooves (breakdowns I guess). Maybe the album doesn't make you headbang or mosh, but at least deathcore influence is absent. You can say this album is a legitimate technical death metal release, incorporating very properly done riffs, fast notes and decent solos. Hell, even the breakdowns sound very solid and enjoyable. Nevermore comes to my mind as I'm typing this.

The bass sounds pretty interesting as well; very technical and sometimes even catchy (right now I'm thinking about Reign Of Terror). It even has a nice death metal tone, which sounds thick and heavy (slightly distorted but not to the point where it sounds like pure static, such as the typical grindcore bass sound). in fact, the bass made this album rise in my list of good releases. You could clearly say the guy has talent and some of the songs are worth playing a couple of times just for the sake of enjoying that crunchy sound.

If you're a true fan of technical death metal, give this album a try and you might not be disappointed. I mean, it's not Fleshgod Apocalypse, but it's still worth listening.

I am a big fan of tech death, but not really a fan of deathcore so I was a bit suspicious about Beneath the Massacre and how much I would enjoy them. Thankfully though they seem fan more interested in creating harsh, bludgeoning, technical death metal rather than the dim-witted chugging and breakdowns that come with the deathcore scene (Disclaimer: Not all deathcore bands are complete shit, but a lot of them are pretty worthless.)

As I stated in my title this is a very mechanical album, with a very dry and crunchy tone to the guitars and a pretty thudding and dry drum sound. It's one of the few albums that can actually give me a headache if I listen to it too loud, as it's mostly unrelenting in its full on assault. Despite this, it's not just a pure wall of noise and there are a few calmer moments where the volume is reduced and we just hear a bit of chugging and some double-bass work. These parts are pretty deathcore-esque, but as they do not form the majority of the album and are instead used tastefully to give a moment of calm before the intensity restarts they are bearable and actually work pretty well.

The guitar and drum work is very technical and impressive but without straying too far into the "LOOK AT ME AND HOW FAST I CAN SWEEP!" style that Brain Drill tend to use. Instead we get a few weedlyweedly guitar parts and some drum solo parts but they are used tastefully and tactfully and do not detract from the musical experience as a whole by being overly obnoxious. The guitar sound, as previously stated, is very dry and crunchy and unnatural; something which a lot of people will probably dislike, but which I actually quite enjoy. The drum tone is similarly unnatural and dry, but I actually really like it as it sounds inhuman and pretty intimidating. The drums incessantly pound away, forming some sort of unstoppable machine-like sound behind the music which is simultaneously musically impressive (as this guy can really play fast) and unfeelingly oppressive.

The vocals are another part of this that a lot of people will dislike but which personally I enjoy. A lot of people will complain about his "hardcore" barks but I think they really work well with this harsh, brutal sound - far more so than any sort of gurgling or growling would do. They are a bit repetitive, but I feel (and this makes me feel really pretentious) that this works well with the machine-like nature of the music. Love them or hate them, I think they fit the music pretty well.

Overall, as I've stated several times now, this is a pretty inhuman and harsh sounding album which will not be to everyone's taste. A lot of people may complain that it sounds soulless, but I think they're missing the point as it's not meant to be something personal or emotional - it's supposed to be (well, I assume that was the band's intention) harsh and mechanical and achieves this goal with distinction. If there was one criticism I had it would be that this is a bit too repetitive at times, and there are often moments where just too much is happening and it feels a bit cluttered, but for anyone who likes music like this then I would heartily recommend it. For those of you who only enjoy music which has passion and soul this probably isn't for you.

This is a mood record- that is to say, its quality depends almost entirely on the mood I'm in when I put it on. 'Mechanics Of Dysfunction' is a record with an extremely specific nature; it's almost absurdly mechanical and sterile and only really functions on a single level. I go back and forth on whether I really enjoy it or not, because I'm not really listening to it for the guitar theatrics or the sheer speed; it's more interesting to dissect this record's mood and what it seems to be suggesting to the listener.

Whether or not you enjoy the clinical, clicky production job on display here is pretty immaterial- it was clearly an intentional decision on the part of the band, as I can't think of another band out there who intentionally pursues as dry and punishing a sound as this. I don't think it's really in pursuit of heaviness or brutality; honestly, I'd go as far as to say that there's some sort of statement being made in the very way the album is produced and played. I can't confirm that, of course, but all the evidence seems to suggest it.

Beneath The Massacre plays deathcore after a fashion- they feature breakdowns (though they seem more heavily influenced by Meshuggah than Despised Icon), use a growling hardcore style of vocals, and employ a style of riffing taken from equal parts US metalcore and Psyopus-style mathcore. This is not as overpoweringly technical as a band like Brain Drill, though all the tapping and complex riffing is definitely far beyond most of their compatriots. The mechanical style of production isn't just in the sound quality, but in the way the music is played itself; there's no human error, no warmth, and no 'errors' in anything. If a computer could be programmed to make music as detailed as this with equally good sound quality, I think the band might have done that.

The hardcore vocals don't do much to humanize this; they're a pretty monotonous bark, but at the same time it is the only human voice in an album defined by stark inhumanity. It's hard to properly articular just how mechanical this music is; every fucking thing feels like it's a sample, and there's certainly nothing in the way of guitar solos. What there is: a lot of frantic tremolo riffing all over the fretboard, sterile, ultra-fast blasting, and barking vocals which recite fairly simple, minimal lyrics over the backdrop of all the controlled chaos. Calling it chaos at all might be a misnomer; the band feels firmly in control of everything going on, despite how crazy it seems at first glance. Mechanics. Control. Precision.

I don't think the first word in the album's title is a coincidence: I think this may be a concept album of sorts about the mechanization of society, and I don't mean that in a literal Fear Factory sense. Most of the lyrics on this album seem to deal with loss of identity, freedom, and hope due to societal intervention; vocalist Elliot Desgagnés seems to be the last voice of humanity screaming in front of the perpetually grinding gears of civilization which run off the bones of average citizens. The album feels like a warning or call to action much in the same way early Napalm Death does, but without that band's "We have to act now" sensibility. I think Beneath The Massacre have already given up and are just idly commenting on the unstoppable machine of government that has already taken you completely even if you don't know it.

I'm not sure how much I really enjoy this music; the breakdowns don't appeal to my sensibilities as a deathcore fan, and the sort of needling tech riffage on display has never been my go-to guitar style. At the same time, I think this album is essentially a perfect execution of what the band is going for, so I'm not really going to penalize them significantly simply because I don't enjoy it a great deal. Listen to a track before you invest your time and money in this- they all sound basically the same- and decide for yourself. Though it's not always my cup of tea, it's unfailingly interesting.

Beneath the Massacre play aggressive and brutal technical death metal, yeah everyone knows this genre and everyone knows about the real bands and the poser bands. It’s hard to say where these guys lie in this ever expanding sub genre, but I’d have to say they genuinely are a death metal band and don’t try and fall over into the horrible deathcore side. These guys are too technical and have too much talent to be over there. Fortunately for them, they are getting more and more popular as this sub genre for some reason is becoming the most popular form out there that I see. Unfortunately for them though, it seems they lack a few things. The music is fun for a few listens but in the end it’s not original and doesn’t have much lasting value. I remember when I saw these guys live last year and thought it was enjoyable and how tight they sounded and now that I’ve checked the studio release, I still think the same thing; it’s tight as hell, very technical but the songs all run together with little distinction between each other and less memorable moments other than sheer brutality and mind numbing aggressive rhythm section.

These guys are skilled, having only one guitarist all over the place on Mechanics of Dysfunction, he shreds his way all over the place, furious fretwork and riffing out the ass but still it comes out to be not that memorable and as the album progresses it seems like it’s the same thing. The drummer plays hyper fast blast beats and just as fast double bass, he certainly knows how to play the drums, unfortunately he doesn’t vary himself much unless he slows down for a breakdown… which are everywhere for some reason. Fucking breakdowns. I can’t stand them, obviously metal breakdowns are awesome like the infamous Raining Blood one; those are fine but these simply drag down the music and try and go for the ‘br00tal’ factor and obviously appeal to scene kids, like the ultra brutal one in The Stench of Misery, it just reeks of core. The bassist is just as good making himself known in a few songs playing very fast and keeping up pace with the rest of the music.

The vocalist is just there, nothing special about him. He reminds me a bit of Origin’s vocalist as the rest of Beneath the Massacre sounds like. Very low and guttural growls and some screeching this guy doesn’t vary himself too much if he did I think he would add to the music but alas it only brings it down more. I’ve heard many comparisons to Origin and I think it would fit perfectly as these guys take many influences off them and sound a lot like other brutal technical death metal bands out there.

Beneath the Massacre starts off taking a different or unique approach to the technical death metal scene but in the end I think they just seem to fall back and become nothing special and play the exact same thing as everyone else does; hyper fast blast beat drums, all over the place, nonstop guitar shredding and ultra brutal and guttural vocals. The songs here are all the same to me, they run into one another having not much in difference and lack any varying structures. And the breakdowns here are way to annoying and help to make this album more accessible for scene kids thinking they now listen to actual metal. Despite all the bashing I still enjoy some songs off here before they start to run together like if Long Forgotten had been one of the first songs on here I’d say throw off the entire end of the album and make it a short but at least enjoyable album. I also wish I was as talented as the guitarist, he really knows how to shred, maybe now they can get a rhythm guitarist and create actually some real heavy hitting riffs and make something out of this formula!

Beneath the Massacre is a band that impressed me a lot thanks to their EP Evidence of Inequity. That is the reason why I had to get my hands on this album.
The album sounds brutal from the get go. It is a perfect example of bands trying to push the boundaries, not just for themselves but for metal as a whole. Its fast, heavy and all of this executed with a very technical form of songwriting.

The first couple of songs really made an impression on me. The intensity of the music gave me a fantastic vibe and made me curious about what else the album has to offer. However to my disappointment the rest of the album gets pretty monotonous. Eventually it makes you lose interest. After listening to the first few songs the album loses its edge and gets predictable. The riffs get repetitive, the vocals due to a lack of variation and range fails to impress and eventually sounds too mechanical. At the end of the day it feels like you have been sitting in front of some sort of a machine that is extremely loud and does not have an off button.

The album seems to be more intent on showing the capability to play complicated music rather than playing an interesting form of music. I don't want to take away anything from the band, especially skill wise. Its a fact that the band is immensely talented. But for a band with such great potential this is a poor effort. The album is a desperate effort by the band to outdo themselves and be more...."BR00TAL". It sounds like a constant need to prove to the lister that they can play, when it should sound like top quality death metal that will bring you back to your cd player constantly. After listening to this album I would conclude by saying...Beneath the Masscre is a band that is skillful but lacks creativity.

Highlights - Incredibly technical. Takes extreme metal drumming to a whole new level. Overall great production.

Low Points - Too monotonous. Eventually gets bland and will bore you. Lacks charecter.

Canada has brought us many great extreme metal bands over the years, but Beneath The Massacre has to be ov the greatest. People have called them metalcore, but they are definitley not some kids trying to be as hard as possible. And now onto their debut:

Vocals: Straightforward with well thoughtout lyrical content with meaning.
Elliot's growls are immpresive as he can reach fast speeds and hold a quality growl for a great amount ov time. However, he has NO other vocal types (screams, gurgles, pitch changes) which would have been nice.

Guitar(s): Technical, fast, and no-bullshit type riffing. The guitarist is very skilled at his job, making use ov sweeps, taps, quick-changing tremolo chords, etc. Some melody would have been useful on a few tracks, as well as an official solo for the him to give emotion.(I use the word official because evey riff is like an organized solo :D)

Bass: Finally! A metal band with a bassist you can hear nearly 100% ov the time! The bass is very fufilling for a fellow bassist to hear, as he can sweep and tap up to speed with the guitarist, without using a pick like most metal bassist who only play bass because no one else wanted to.

Drums: I have seen Beneath The Massacre live twice and I must say Justin Rousell is one hell ov a musician. However, on this album the drums could easily pass as machine. This isnt because ov how fast they are, but because how every drum sounds EXACTLY the same on each hit. I have been in a band with computerized drums, and they sounded just like this. If this is really is him then it is waaayyyyy to triggered.

Now for their well known and despised breakdowns. Metalcore? fuck no! In metalcore, bands play over dramatized riffs and go into standard open chord breakdowns with one rythm. Beneath The Massacre play intense tech death riffs and go into fast technical breakdowns, with odd timing and use ov multiple strings for the most part (later on the album) As for Untitled, this is obviously used for ambience, and if you have seen them live you know its used to get the crowd to get excited and get them to headbang.

Overall, if you are a fan ov technical death metal, this album is a must.

I loved the Evidence of Inequity EP. There are two particular parts that stick in my head: the opening riff of Profitable Kill Count and the chorus to Nevermore. This is impressive given the genre and format, and is why I am disappointed with Mechanics of Dysfunction. This full-length is one long string of blasts and breakdowns that seem to be un-structured. I was joking with a friend that you could re-master this album and change where the track breaks go, but I thought that sentiment would fade with repeated listens. It didn’t.

The drums are too triggered, too electronic. I have seen Beneath the Massacre live and even there there seems to be a lack of effort on the kit, an utter reliance on digital technology. It’s too bad because blast beasts were invented by ridiculously over-zealous musicians who needed it faster-harder to fully express their metallic emotions. This is now being bastardized and turned into a gimmick that is way too easy to reproduce.

I think -and I’m sad to say this because I’ve met Elliot and he’s the nicest guy ever- that the vocals have suffered on this record as well. He has taken a step away from enunciation and clarity for the sake of brutality. Given his extremely political and mobilizing lyrics this was a bad choice. Too few metal bands have something to say, and the one’s that do should at least try to make it intelligible.

The guitars are amazing, although I am predicting that harmonized tapping with breakdowns will become as much a gimmick in the next few years as triggered blast beats (if it isn’t already). One problem: live, there are no harmonies! I mean common, BTM are from Montreal; you’re not going to convince me that in the technical metal hotbed of the world they cannot find a good guitar player…

Beneath the Massacre will not die with this record. They will only get bigger. After all, it is possibly one of the most brutal sounding things I’ve ever heard. I just hope that in the future they will realize that a classic album should be classic even before it is recorded, and should be able to shine regardless of the level of production that is employed.

Last note: Someone told me that if you slow BTM down to quarter time and add keyboards you get Rush…

70%

You have never heard anything as unrelenting, cold, and calculating as this CD. Most likely, if you are a pedestrian metal fan, you will listen to 5 seconds of The Surface and call it horrid noisy garbage. I call it excellent music. Where is the line? Well, for one, I am already predisposed to this kind of extreme stuff. However, even a lot of metal fans deride this album, and perhaps this band's last album too, because of the lack of emotion.

Emotion? Who gives a shit?

Look, I realize metal is often about narrative structures, a sense of melody and power not often found in rock music...and some people often put a lot of faith in metal bands due to the emotion they display, or rather, the emotions they instill upon any listener, wary or unwary. I'll tell you what emotion this gives me, straight-up. It gives me a complete lack of emotion. The absolute void of feeling, caring, and compassion. A feeling of distaste, but not of any particular rage. That's what Beneath the Massacre succeeds at. They succeed at not giving anything in particular off in the way of emotion with their music.

Sure, plenty of people are bothered by this. To these people, I say; go listen to your keyboardy-type black metal, old-school death, or even prog. To people who want to hear the sound of deceit and disgust: keep listening.

This band has one guitarist. He does everything you hear on the album himself (though I've heard accounts and rumors that their live performance isn't up to snuff, which, quite frankly, I believe, considering this is one hell of a sterile, clicky production job with perfect, pristine lead cuts, etc.). That is pretty unbelievable, considering all of the sweeping and tapping he does. I'm not a guy for guitar theatrics, but these are interesting and make the album less monotonous. Perhaps without any real lead guitar, this album would fail. The drumming is, like I said, clicky and sounds like a cut-and-paste job (triggers, of course) for the most part. The dude has stamina in spades, I'll say that. The bass is not here, a-la Psycroptic (seriously, where are these bands' bassists?). The vocalist is good and pulls off some nice low vocals, as well as a deeper sort of "hardcore" shout now and then, which are equally good.

Everyone hates the breakdowns on this album, it seems. "METALCORE!," they cry. Damn fucking straight it is. Deathcore may be a more apt term, but there is a HEAVY metalcore leaning here. The breakdowns are huge, full of gaps between notes (what most metal fans see as "why don't they insert power chord triplets here?!," which I understand, but disagree with), and, of course, mosh-worthy. This album is great. If anything, it's an exercise in mechanic sound. If everything, it's a brutal blast of straight death.

Their first EP, "Evidence Of Inequity" was simply amazing. It was fast, brutal, aggressive and unique. No one had pretty much heard anything like this and well, it sent a huge shockwave through the metal underground.

Beneath The Massacre has returned this time with a full length album titled "Mechanics Of Dysfunction" and well I thought that this album would never top their EP, and well it didn't. And I was disappointed.

The guitars on this album are simply amazing. There are none others like this. I mean sweeps, apreggios, chugs, you name it, it's here! However what a lot of Brutal DM lacks is solos. Why can't we get any solos in Brutal DM? Because most of the time the bands focus just on making their music brutal (obviously why it's called Brutal DM) and don't focus on putting any feeling or emotions (which previous people have said) into the music. Solos are an emotion. They aren't just a catchy lead, they are an expression of the guitarist himself, which most people think sounds extremely stupid, but they are, and a lot of metal lacks that. The fretwork is blazing but as someone before me also said "they are simply just guitar exercises". Anyways, moving on, the drums just constantly blast throughtout this album. They just keep beating and beating and beating until your ears bleed. I wish BTM would incorporate more thrash-esque style drumming. This would elevate their unique sound a lot. The vocals are good, but extremely monotonous. If I could compare Elliot Desgagnés to another vocalist, it would be Chris Barnes, for the fact that they never change their vocal style. And nowadays, I find that it should be mandatory to have ups and downs with the vocals, because it accentuates the music a lot. The bass is drowned out in the chaos. I can never ever fucking find a good Brutal DM band who has any bass what-so-ever. It's horrible. I mean when the fuck are DM bands going to learn that their listeners want to hear the goddamn bass lines!

However what makes me take the majority of points off this album are the breakdowns. I mean... This is supposed to be Brutal DM, not Deathcore. The breakdowns all sound the same and are very very repetitive and annoying. If this band were to lose the breakdowns, they would again elevate themselves to a higher ground.

Overall, if you want something truly brutal, fast and aggressive and you just want to blow your brains out, then BTM is the band for you.

When I first heard the band's EP, I was floored. This was technical death metal a la max, with everything going 100mph but still containing actual songs. Many were wondering if this would go down well in afull length format.

Considering how brutal the material at hand is, the band did a pretty good job at capturing their sound over a full length release. The main problem I have with this record is the production. usually I'm a big fan of J-F Dagenais' production, but here something is missing. The drums for one are just overdone, with hits being digitally retouched to be absolutely perfect on the mark, giving up a human aspect to the feel of the album. Having seen the band live a couple of times, I can admit to the fact that their drummer Justin Rousselle is amazing, but here it sounds TOO mechanical.

The guitarist is out of his mind. The riffs here are uber technical, and yet retain a style of chugging and melody that has come to be known as this band's sound, quite impressive for such a young act. I would rate Denis Bradley up there as far as technical death guitarists go with Mohamed from Necrophagist and the Cryptopsy dudes, he's very talented and has crafted a sound all his own. He sweeps he taps and he chugs all within the same songs, where the main riffs themselves can be considered guitar excercizes.

The bass is really not a major component to the band's sound, at least not on this record, and this is something they should work on.

The vocals on here are better than they were on the EP, you can that they've toured since and that he's worked on his technique. The album is lyrically very intelligent, and the vocal delivery is brutal, but once again lacks emotion.

As for the actual songs, they are a blend of pure death metal technicality with some influences from hardcore. Beneath the Massacre can get away with this sound because they manage not to make it boring, with some riffs that the listener will actually recognize after a few listens. However I simply cannot give this a very high grade simply due to the fact that when finishing the record, you're impressed, but not rocking out.

Bursting onto the Technical Death Metal scene in 2005 with their devastating EP, Evidence of Iniquity, Beneath The Massacre became an item of curiosity. The four tracks found within definitely peeled back the eyelids, but left more questions than answers in its wake. Would the ultra-brutal, mechanical, pummeling-as-fuck style found on the EP translate favorably into full-length format? Could they shed the dreaded “deathcore” tag while keeping their tectonic breakdowns intact?

Apparently not.

If unmatched Canadian brutality furnished with a slick, digital sheen is what you’re after, you’ll find in here in spades. Taken at face value, Mechanics of Dysfunction is a crushing statement. Upon first listen, eyebrows will arch, jaws will drop, and bemusements will be uttered. Everything here is cranked far beyond eleven. However, when you peel the surface layer away, and take the ludicrous brutality for the gimmick that it is, not much substance remains.

The riffing is pure Quebec, alternating between Cryptopsy-esque technical freak-outs and angular, jagged chuggery a la Meshuggah. Paste these guitars on top of some ultra-fast, inhuman typewriter drumming, add some monotonous, guttural bellows to the mix, pepper with some Neanderthal breakdowns, and you’ve got Mechanics of Dysfunction. This is generic, brutal Death Metal with triggers and breakdowns that purists will surely scoff at. The façade of the steroid-enhanced production masks the banality, and does a phenomenal job of tricking you into thinking you are hearing a groundbreaking album. Sure, if you play this thing loud enough, it might actually crack the linoleum in your kitchen, but remembering a single riff or drum fill from this 30 minute jackhammer is nearly impossible.

Beneath The Massacre will never come close to touching genre leaders like Benighted and Neuraxis until they learn to write actual songs. The massively heavy, two-minute endurance challenges that this band crafts will certainly work within the context of an EP, as they proved with their debut. However, until they put some true emotion behind their delivery, it’s not worth the headache that this full-length induces. BTM has a chance to improve over time, but at this stage of the game, their immaturity is striking. In the talent-saturated arena of brutal DM, gimmickry and hype will only keep you above water for so long.

Utterly soulless.

Beneath The Massacre's first full-length is a step up for the band, and while it retains its signature sound that "Evidence of Inequity" had, the production value increases slightly and makes it sound golden.

There is no band I can really compare this too. I have never heard an excellent mix of technical guitar riffs and well-executed breakdowns until I listened to Beneath The Massacre. Okay, maybe the drums are triggered, but this actually flows well with the music this band creates, and you could seriously care less if you dig blastbeats. Elliot uses the guttural vocal style that uses his almighty powerful lungs and diaphragm to produce. And once again, it fits in well with the music perfectly.

Only reason why I knocked it back a FEW points is because the music can tend to run together at times, but the music is excellent enough to not worry about that much. With tracks like "The Stench of Misery", "The Surface", and "Modern Age Slavery" having such memorable riffs, how could you say no?

Beneath The Massacre have definitely outdone themselves with "Mechanics of Dysfunction", and due to that, I expect a bright future for them. Canada has always churned out quality technical bands (Cryptopsy, Ion Dissonance, Martyr) and Beneath The Massacre is definitely no difference.

Before anything is said about this album, it's important to note that I don't care much for death metal (that's putting it rather mildly), and even less so for most technical death metal bands, save but a handful. In fact, there is only three death metal bands I can recall seriously listening to in over a year - this is one of them. That said, this is a special band.

There are three primary reasons I like this band and this album.

1.) It's unique. Death metal is the single most cluttered genre in all of metal, with clone, after pointless, worthless clone.

2.) It's technical in a way that makes it listenable, not in a way that makes it impossible to remember and impossible to find appealing. I don't mind technical music one bit, but when it gets to the point where it's literally changing time signatures every riff, every riff is 4 seconds long and pulling random things out of thin air, it's gone much too far.

3.) It's genuinely brutal, not brutal because they tune down to C flat (they do tune down quite a bit, but that's not the reason they're brutal) and/or because their vocalist sounds like his vocals were inspired by bodily functions after a spicy Mexican dinner. Such things are not brutal, such things are normally just cheap studio tricks to feign brutality.

For anyone already familiar with the EP, this is simply an expansion of more songs. They could have been on the same release, really. But for anyone who hasn't heard any of this bands stuff ...

The first thing you must notice about this, is that it's hyper fast. The drumming is very, very tight, and faster still. There are a number of parts using the "gravity blast", pivot roll, double blast, whatever you want to call it. But there are also chug-a-chug parts with a more rhythmic slow beat, or a technical blast-stop-change-it-up-and-blast-again parts.

Duel lead guitars playing insanely fast thirds come out of no where, chromatic and even-interval sweeps, and parts where such oddities are merged with more of a Morbid Angel sounding guitar part make this an interesting listen. The line between rhythm and lead guitars is a hard, defined line - it's either rhythmically technical or lead driven, there is little middle ground.

The vocals are relatively standand fair. Lower ended growls, but not stupid burpy, sewer pipe emissions like some bands would find more appropriate.

The songs structure are all over the place, normally in a good way. The songs are absolutely ceaseless in intensity, which unfortunately does sometimes leave room for monotony to set in. It is sort of like Origin in this way, and other ways - but more interesting than Origin. The music is very bizzare because it doesn't necessarily depict or reflect any certain emotion, or thought (apart from the lyrics) ... it just makes you say "Wow, that sounded really fucking cool." If anything it will make you feel like you're travelling through a dimensional portal at the speed of light. Which is a credit in a way to novelty, but it is also just genuinely a good listen when in the mood.

Personally, I think this band is quite special. I'm not into death metal, and I still occasionally listen to this band, and that makes me very confident that people who are into such styles will adore it and absolutely shouldn't miss it.