Warp Zone

There was a time, some time in the late-90’s or early-00’s, when I considered the template provided by Chuck Schuldiner (R.I.P.) and his cohort Death the ultimate one in the field of death metal, and all its followers the definitive purveyors of musical mastery. I stood by the works of acts like Sceptic, Gory Blister, Polluted Inheritance and Strangulation advocating the greatness exhibited by these outfits paying little attention to the rest of the death metal brotherhood. Well, it took a few years before I realized that the genre was so much more than holding onto the legacy of an already extinct act, regardless of how great it was, and that originality was hardly the name of the game within the voluminous Death cult following.

The Mongrain brothers (Francois and Daniel) from Quebec looked no further than the Death output initially when they decided to form their band, and their debut “Hopeless Hopes” remains a highlight in the overfull Death emulation camp. A major reason why this opus created such a positive impression was also the several more intricate nuances which showed that these Martyrs wouldn’t be copying their peers endlessly, but might as well branch out into less explored territories. It took three whole years before the album reviewed here appeared, but man, was it worth the wait; and was it not one of the five greatest achievements of the whole Quebec technical death metal industry… ever.

This opus remains one of the most perfect exercises in technical death metal wizardry this side of Necrophagist’s “Onset of Putrefaction”, Psycroptic’s “The Sceptre of the Ancients” and Theory in Practice’s “The Armageddon Theories”. The moment the title-track starts shredding with these precise, and yet trippy psychedelic riffs, the listener knows that this won’t be interpretations of the Death repertoire anymore, but will be labyrinthine, spiral-like mosaics of more or less logical tempo-changes and unconventional time-signatures of which the mentioned opener is a most evocative illustration. “Virtual Emotions” begins in a more spacey progressive manner with the accurate mathematical rifforamas coming later the guys altering the pace at will serving a few faster-paced sections with a taste of Death. The riff density at this stage is so big that even the leads only timidly show up for isolated very short dashes until “Endless Vortex Towards Erasing Destiny” interferes with both more atmospheric and more lead-prone execution although the riff-salad in the middle may cause severe headshake; a situation partly relieved by the brilliant twisted melodic hooks at the end. “Deserted Waters” is an acrobatic shredder showing its virtuoso-oriented nature from the get-go the technical perplexities following in quick succession a few gallops provided to serve as the respite, but the guys seldom let you loose with mazey progressive build-ups creeping from all sides still leaving plenty of room for the leads to breathe.

“Carpe Diem” is a marvellous progressive opus with echoes of Atheist and Nocturnus the riff-patterns reaching a spiral-like configuration the band weaving these gorgeous tapestries with patience and the utmost precision. “The Fortune-Teller” is a hyper-active technicaller that even Necrophagist would find hard to match with the overlapping rhythmic section and the stunning array of riffs, this inordinate level of complexity achieved through dramatic, nearly jazz-like accumulations helped by the insertion of a few speedy strokes. “Speechless” will leave most of the fanbase speechless indeed with the next portion of intricate skirmishes which acquire a fast-paced character from the very beginning before virtuous melodies and choppy rhythms overtake the aether, the shadow of Death felt ephemerally during another more aggressive dash which gets repeated throughout to a nearly headbanging effect. “Retry? Abort? Ignore?” is a multi-layered extravaganza with dazzling technical riff-formulas which are a wonder to listen to with their dishevelled jazzy application and the abrupt time shifts among which lie scattered bits and pieces of screamy leads and isolated balladic breaks, the super-intricate amalgam reaching a fever pitch at the glory end. “Realm of Reverie” has little to add after such a climactic piece, and it tries to distract the listener with mellower balladic passages the latter’s surreal character accentuated by the alternation between aggressive riffs and quiet lyrical sections the resultant duel won by the latter in the end, the whole carnival turning into a beautiful lead-driven ballad as an absolutely overwhelming finale.

From Death worship to one of the definitive works on the field… the Mongrain brothers reached the culmination of their career quite fast, with their sophomore effort. In a way similar to Polluted Inheritance with “Betrayed” (1996) the guys outgrew the shadow of their mentors, and embarked on their own journey; only that this journey reached its destination fairly early… cause it was difficult to see where next to conquer after an immaculate album like that, providing the non-aggressive antithesis to their compatriots Cryptopsy’s “None so Vile”, the brutal hyper-fast analogue to this “warp zone”. The two extremes arrived after two consecutive years, and when Necrophagist shot “Onset of Putrefaction” a year later, the peak in the acrobatic pyrotechnics side of the genre, Gorguts saw no reason why they should delay the release of “Obscura” in order to send death metal into distant constellations light years away once all was said and done… so here it was, the history of death metal rewritten within the span of three years. The new Deaths, Atheists and Pestilences had abundant heritage to learn from, and they were fast learners, every single one of them, bringing the genre to its fair conclusion by the end of the 90’s.

Our friends here weren’t over yet with this extraordinary opus, mind you; they pulled themselves together some six years later for another feat, “Feeding the Abscess”. Amazingly, this was another lesson in progressive/technical mastery, maybe not as firmly death metal-fixated, with a healthy influence from the legends Mekong Delta and Voivod looming on the horizon this time, a statement more prominently made at the end with the cover of “Brain Scan” from the latter outfit's magnum opus “Dimension Hatross”. The relationship between the two bands was further consolidated when Daniel Mongrain became a full-time member of the Voivods in 2009 to replace the sadly passed away Denis D’Amour aka Piggy. However, his busy schedule with the veterans slowed down the work in the Martyr camp which (il)logically led to the band’s demise. No one should cross them off the list, though; I have the sneaking feeling that they would be back once our favourite death metal reaches another zenith, and once the fanbase needs a stronger stimulus to get into the zone again.

Martyr is a very interesting band that stands out to me in both the death metal and the technical death metal scenes as a band that is horribly underrated that also serves as a bridge between good old death metal as we know and love, and awful, hideously crappy tech death. However, Martyr’s role as this bridge is odd. You see, they’re not much of an old school death metal band by any standard, yet they’re not at all affiliated with the soulless instrumental wankery of today’s tech tripe. Instead, they blend groove-driven death metal with some 90s influence, and then add their own element of technical musicianship on top. This musicianship, though, isn’t about showing off how many notes they can play in a minute. It’s about adding flair and different elements to their music, which ultimately gives it an identity of its own. While Martyr certainly isn’t obscure, they’re certainly underrated as far as death metal goes.

Warp Zone is a fun album. This is music that is just made for a live setting where all you greasy-haired folk can headbang like crazy. The simple sections of Matryr’s music are full of fun riffs and death/thrash bits that are probably epic live. Hell, this is fun to listen to while sitting around at home. But the real fun comes in the form of Martyr’s technicality. They do anything from altering song structures, to abruptly changing tempos, and making some very abnormal riffs. Yet they do so in a way that doesn’t drive the listener away, but instead leads them into the maze that is Martyr’s music. This is chaotic, winding, yet incredibly fulfilling to listen to. If anything, I consider this to be what Atheist would sound like if they were more modern and death metal-oriented. Well, at least Martyr hasn’t released Jupiter.

Stemming from that, the way that the technicality is presented here is a bit more modern that we’d see from technical death metal bands of the past, like your Atheists, Cynics, and whatnots. Imagine the compactness of a death metal song, meaning from three to five minutes, with the instrumental emphasis of Dream Theater’s instrumental sections. That’s not to say that this is wankery, but instead to say that individual performances are very much emphasized here in the more technical sections, and are not as much of a joint effort as something you’d hear on, say, and Cynic album. The solos stand out. The drumwork stands out. The riffs beneath stand out. The basslines stand out. Everything stands out, but it has feeling to it! That’s the most important part of this entire listening experience.

Anyone familiar with my taste in death metal knows that I shy away from a lot of modern albums described as technical. The lack of any decent songwriting, atmosphere, or emotion just leaves me bored as a listener. You know that I love my old school death metal, of course. Warp Zone, to me, is the album that could have redefined the modern direction of death metal. This has the technical elements that fans of the **weedily weedily** wank like, yet not nearly to the masturbatory extent that those bands employ technicality. Instead, this is simply a more technical, progressive extension of old school death metal, and could have very easily led the path to where the genre could have moved to next. Alas, that is not the case, as Martyr did not have the influence that they should have had. I blame the kids and their wankcore. Regardless, this is a great, unique album that is genuinely fun to listen to. Ignoring it would be quite the disservice to both yourself and death metal.

Written for http://thenumberoftheblog.com/

Metalheads rejoice! Montreal-based band Martyr returns after their debut album Hopeless Hopes with another technical death metal marvel, Warp Zone.
Martyr’s unique mix of thrash/death metal, technical, off-time rhythms and breakdowns and jazz influence re-emerged into the metal scene better than ever, combining fast double bass and metal/jazz drumming, jazzy bass fills, odd time signatures, fast rhythm guitars, technical guitar solos and Martyr’s trademark raspy screams.

The album starts off strong with the title track Warp Zone, showing Martyr’s progression from Hopeless Hopes into a more experimental, off-time feel, such as at the 1:55 mark. Virtual Emotions follows, with a more heavy, drum-focused sound. The verse particularly stands out at the 0:52 mark, leading into the song’s trademark vocal duel in the chorus, “What you feel/Is not real/Virtual Emotions!” (1:03). The next track, Endless Vortex Towards Erasing Destiny, is Martyr’s most experimental song on the album, showing their full musical talent and Daniel Mongrain’s song writing skills. The song’s standpoints are the jazzy intro, the odd-time bridge leading into the album’s catchiest and heaviest chorus (1:30), and the odd-timed breakdown following the chorus (1:51), demonstrating Francois Mongrain’s ingenious bass licks (1:55). Guest Vocalist Luc Lemay from Canadian band Gorguts is heard at the end of the chorus (1:49). Song #7, The Fortune-Teller, is a catchy song full of breakdowns and Stop/Go riffs, such as the first riff. The song contains a fade-in double bass passage at the 0:22 mark which adds effect and an oncoming feel. Retry? Abort? Ignore?, written by Francois Mongrain is the only song on the album not written by Daniel Mongrain. It’s a more bass and drum-oriented song, with riffs progressing throughout the song. For example, at the 0:22 mark, the bass plays alone, then drums are added, and finally the guitars and vocals enter. Deserted Waters, Carpe Diem and Speechless are solid songs that display the band’s talent, but don’t stand out as much as the others. The concluding song, Realms of Reverie, is a song put together with riffs from other songs, in a different scale, pattern or progression to create a different song. Also, the lyrics are not sung, but narrated, giving an epic and eerie feel to the song. For example, at the 0:26 mark, the main riff and narration enters, and at the 0:42 mark the intro riff from Warp Zone overlaps it. This is an original and creative way to end an album, and a nice touch that makes it all their own.

Martyr’s lyrics, written by main guitarist Daniel Mongrain and his brother, bassist Francois Mongrain, focus on philosophical views on life and death, and questions on the meaning of life, such as in Endless Vortex, “Why am I here and now?/Why was I not, and never will?”. The lyrics give off a dark, angry and depressive feel and are well written, adding to the general feel of the songs.

The album is consistent and has a steady flow from beginning to end, with each song fading smoothly into the next. Although some may argue that Martyr’s riffs are too odd-timed and technical, Martyr pulls it off while keeping good headbanging riffs and a consistent feel through each tune. The lyrics fit well with the style of music, but the vocals need work, even though they have progressed from the previous album. Every instrument on the album corresponds well with the others and each song is a well-crafted gem. The mixing is impeccable, with many technical aspects such as fade-ins and echoes; for example, the transition between Virtual Emotions and Endless Vortex uses a fading echo into the clean guitar intro. All in all, the album is a very solid and consistent effort with impeccable recording for a metal album.

If you are into Martyr, Warp Zone will surely not disappoint. Although on first listen, it may sound too experimental, once you recognize Martyr’s melodies and song structure, it makes for a unique musical experience.

The boys from Martyr came back in 2000 to follow up their amazing Hopeless Hopes album. A lot was expected from these technical metal masterminds. Daniel Mongrain and Company certainly did not disappoint with this release.

Although maybe not as catchy as the songwriting on Hopeless Hopes, the band took a lot more risks on here and it certainly paid off. Interesting chords fluctuate over strange rythm patterns offering something truly unique to the musical palet of any fan of technical music. The songwriting is once again top notch and the vocals are much more aggressive than on HH. There are even a couple of guest spots from death metal legend and Gorguts frontman Luc Lemay.

"Warp Zone", the title track, starts off with a few dissonant sounding delayed chords before hitting the listening with a thunderous riff. The song takes the high road from then on and leaves you gasping for more. "Virtual Emotions" has an amzing intro riff and goes to weird changes in time signatures and a very interesting song structure. "Endless Vortex Towards Erasing Destiny" is one of my favorite songs on the album. This track has a catchy chorus that's easy to get into. "Carpe Diem" is another sick track, arguably the heaviest on the record.

"Speechless" and "Retry?Abort?Ignore?" keep the frantic pace going until we reach the epic closer "Realms of Reverie". This is a long song with long instrumental bits and spoken word passages. It kind of encompasses many passages from the entire record into one giant mother of a song. It's a great ending to a fantastic record.

This is actually a concept album, and many of the songs tie into each other in different ways. All in all a very interesting listen. Great metal from one of Canada's best.

Martyr's "Warp Zone" is one hell of an album. It has a lot going for it, and definitely shows that Canada, especially Quebec, has a strong scene.

Starting the album off is the title track. You may notice the clean part is the same as the outro to their first full length, "Hopeless Hopes". Then BOOM. The fun begins. We get slammed with a crazy riff to bang your head too. These guys really know how write some great riffs, and take advantage of their fret boards. Then when the verse starts, we get some oddly timed riffs. It makes you think. The song ends with variations of the intro riff, and not to mention an incredible solo. It's safe to say these guys know what they are doing.

Martyr describes themselves as a metal band that likes to push the boundaries, with making music that sparks different emotions, as well as lyrics that are thoughtful and meaningful. I fully agree. Their use of riffing and musical knowledge can bring up a lot of feelings when you listen to it. Some of aggression like most death metal, some of more softer feelings. The second track "Virtual Emotions" is definitely one that makes you feel good when you hear that opening riff.

Basically, this album just goes everywhere. Dan Mongrain and company really know how to structure an album. They also know how to push the boundaries of what death metal and thrash metal heads alike are used to, and are extremely original. Martyr's overall sound can be described as thrash mixed with death metal with lots of technical aspects too it.

Pretty much every track on this stands out, especially "Warp Zone", "Virtual Emotions", "Carpe Diem", and "Realms of Reverie". The last track I mentioned (and it's also the last on the album) features a very beautiful outro. It's just some nicely structured melodies with several layers of guitar. Very nice touch.

This album is for anyone who's into metal really, I find. Whether you like the technical aspect, the quality of the lyrics, or the amount of diversity on the album, there is something for you if you like metal. With that being said, I look forward to their next studio release. Be sure to buy this album if you can, because the booklet is a cool read. Each song has a short passage in the booklet about the song lyrics, which I find to be interesting. Also interesting to note, Luc Lemay of Gorguts did some guest vocals on this album, as Dan Mongrain helped out Gorguts with their last album. Anyway, check this album out.

Playing what to me sounds like a perfect synthesis of Meshuggah's crunchy, off-time guitars and the progressive death-metal sounds of bands like Cynic and post-"Human" Death, Canada's(Quebec, to be exact) Martyr have crafted
a monster of a record. This thing absolutely slays, kids! Going from melodic, dreamy passage to full-on crushing assault in an instant, the tracks on display here showcase not only a shitload of musicianship, but skilled songwriting that, in my books, rivals the likes of death-metal visionary/virtuoso Chuck Schuldiner(R.I.P.). Witness the nuttery in songs such as "Virtual Emotions" and closing track(and my personal highlight of the album) "Realms of Reverie"(try and tell me that chorus progression doesn't just send chills down your back!). As I just recently heard this band(Warp Zone being my introduction), I'm left wanting just one more thing - another Martyr album that rivals or dethrones this epic! Highly recomended.