Dystopia

So with a band like this there's a good chance if the songs aren't given proper attention they'll come across sounding like a bit of a spoof. The guitars are chunky, the voice is chunky, the drums are hard-hitting as hell (and chunky) and every track starts off with seemingly the exact same template of some diminished scale run up or down or tapped to death.

Past that however, there's actually real work to be discovered that wouldn't be found on other technical records that do focus almost solely on making every song sound like millions of notes shooting in every which direction. Here, some of the parts will be as memorable as a catchy mainstream chorus; which isn't easy to do in this sub-genre.

The opener 'Condemned' has that vicious verse riff (after the intro spits out its obligatory 10'000-note tap) with an excellent architecture of rhythm and melody combining with awesome oomph. Later in the track, that massive breakdown with that brutal soloed bass drop, and granted this is brutish and straightforward as music gets but credit where credit is due: those chugs sound like fucking rocket-launchers on each stroke, and yes, they are very satisfying to listen to.

Track 2 ('Reign of terror') has the most surprising riff on the entire album, in one of the most unique riffs in the genre entirely one could argue. The melodic verse riff with a harmonized arpeggio for a tail: it sounds... "floral". That's really the one word that comes to mind. It's so unexpectedly elated for a brutal tech-death record, like some rainbow makes a random appearance in the middle of a battlefield, but it somehow works really well in the ensemble, still. The breakdown at the end of the track, make no mistake about it, isn't "floral", but is delectable for its field: no bullshit embellishment or ball-breaking time signature fuck-up, this is straight to the point machine-gun staccato shots with a nice ambiance touch with the snare drum reverb at the back during the rests.

Every track on this has at least the one catchy moment, and the rest of the songs usually do a fair enough job given the style, although the listener's sure to be sick with diminished arpeggio scale runs up and down by the end of it - for a good month, or 10 years.

Beneath The Massacre made a name (and a sensation) with their first EP thanks to an impressive display of technicality. After releasing their their debut "Mechanics of Dysfunction", they came back in 2008 with their sophomore album reviewed here.

I really liked the sound of their first album, very heavy rhythm sections reaching very fast tempos, with crazy drumming while guitar alternates fast string skipping sections, tapping madness and chuggy riffs to create a wide range of song dynamics. But I think it had several flaws. It was not easy to digest, there was a lack of "hooks" making songs memorable and it felt like songwriting was a bit random.

Dystopia feels more matured and polished by addressing these flaws while keeping the style and sound initiated from their debut. The formula remains the same, but it feels that it is more channeled. The songwriting is improved here: it is more catchy and songs have understandable and well-thought structures. There is a good balance between technical relentless moments and the breaks, and as a results songs are memorable, diversified and stand on their own. Also one of the qualities of this album is the distinct tremolo or tapping lead work on the various songs that gives them character. For example, the tapping section with the opener Condemned that is developped throught the song as a general theme and the chorus. Or the great tremolo leads on Reign of Terror, Harvest of Hate or Procreating the Infection. And the solos demonstrate real virtuosity while remaining very melodic and influenced by Necrophagist legacy.

The drumming is relentless without being solely blast-beats focused, and offers a diversity of dynamics to add further impact and power to the songs. This is reinforced by the vocals that remain typical of the genre - very low / deep growls - but still with adding this edge of "power" and somehow modern sounding that makes the result very impactful and percussive. Because yes, there is a feeling of power coming from those songs. Despite being very technical, it has very straight-forward moments and hooks. How can anyone not give in to the massive bulldozer track that is "Our Common Grave"? My personal favourite here, and a perfect blend between groove and technique, starting with ultra fast tech death tapping licks to then switch to crazy heavy crushing mode on the chorus.. and what about that finale? Almost epic!

And yes, there are some "Core" elements in the sound of this album, especially in some breaks, but it is far from being a deathcore style (as I can have read here and there) as the technical death metal elements are outweighting them. I think it is actually a strength here as it gives it a balance, make songs digestable while avoiding the constant blast beats pitfall throughout the whole album.

To me this is their best work to date because of the balance they found in the sound between technicality and songwriting dynamics, I still prefer it to the later albums that do sound more muddy overall and less inspired in the songwriting.

One of my favorite things about music is that it simply gets better with age, something about the nostalgia comes with albums that are 5, 10 or 15 years old and reminiscing on a time with how things were back then and where you were at that point in your life makes it a great experience. Such is the case with Dystopia by Beneath the Massacre. This album reaches its 10 year birthday this year, and while I wasn't a fan of Beneath the Massacre's music until very, very recently, I feel like the period of time the band had released this record pays a very rewarding sense of nostalgia either way.

For a time when MySpace and deathcore were the bread and butter for heavy music outlets, Beneath didn't let up with bringing the world a innovative dose of extreme metal which actually wasn't ripping off Suicide Silence. These four Canadians instead brought us a technical deathcore album that rendered unforgettable for the 10 years that followed after its release.
While I will admit that Beneath the Massacre's main premise seems to be tech death with deathcore influences, it's this album where the deathcore sound seems to dominate out of everything in their library. Dystopia really does seem to be their most deathcore-esque record, but that doesn't make it any less good; if anything, it makes it all the more memorable.

Riffs and breakdowns flood the album as each track passes and a new one starts blurred by savage guitar lines of technical brutality. Only when the band manages to stop for a chug-chug mosh call is where your brain begins to catch up with all the notes you just heard. This process is perfected throughout the record, save only for the one track "No Future" - which essentially is just one big breakdown and contains no riffs - but it's for that reason that this one track manages to stand out from the rest, and thus makes it one of my favorite songs featured on Dystopia.

The vocals of Elliot Desgagnés seem to get some raised eyebrows. His performance on this record wasn't as praised as his previous endeavors, but that's only more evidence to the notion of how I feel like Beneath the Massacre really were ahead of their time with the style they perform here. Desgagnés has a special way of doing things that is unlike other deathcore vocalists in that he only growls and doesn't ever scream. Not one high-pitched shriek is ever heard anywhere on Dystopia and for a good reason, I feel like the repetitive and non-varied vocals turn the listener to focusing more on the amazing guitar riffs, which is definitely the band's strongest factor.

Beneath the Massacre are definitely the first band to have ever combined technical death metal with deathcore, and they are certainly the best there is at it. Rings of Saturn, The Red Shore, Burning the Masses, Abiotic and more would follow in their footsteps, but none would or could ever kick as much ass as they manage to do at it. While I feel like this album is unfairly critiqued, I also feel like that misguided idea is mainly garnered due to the fact that the average death metal listener from a decade ago couldn't really grasp Beneath's intention with the sound they were going for, and for that I regard that the band certainly were ahead of their time.

If I could think of one complaint for Dystopia it would be only that I can admit that the songs can get pretty tedious and begin to blend in with one another for the wrong ears, but what album doesn't do that after a while? It doesn't take away from how good the entire thing is from start to finish.
Bottom line: give this one a listen if you want to check out brutal technical death combined with deathcore, and done in a more mature way that the average death metal fan can wrap their head around

The little 2% is because the music is, undoubtedly, extremely hard to play and very technical. but it just doesn't work when you can't remember what happened until you listen to it at least 10 times. The canadian group has managed to create a really bland and boring release that will easily make you want to throw the CD off the window with the most repetitive songs possible and mediocre lyrics.

''It has a lot of br00tal breakdowns'' oh boy, does it... I still can't figure what's so brutal about that. Endless one-note chugging is not brutal or heavy whatsoever. in fact this sounds like it was recorded with fl studio with infinite one note chugging and extremely forgetful riffs (of course, extremely hard to play and very skillful but still end up sounding like crap).

Not to forget the computerized drums that will make you think these guys have a drum machine instead. No, the drummer is not even that fast. Some blast beats here, double bass, gravity blasts there, but nothing really mind-blowing or outstanding but it sounds so artificial that you'll think a machine is doing the drummer's job. Again, he's a very skilled dude and definitely knows what he's doing, always keeping the pace and playing very clean patterns.

The sound quality is pretty clear. Almost too clear, but that's not really a bad thing. What I can't still figure is the fact that these guys with the most expensive studio recording possible can't write anything worth shit.

Don't get me wrong, these guys obviously have skills, so I'm looking forward to a newer album that doesn't sound boring and bland like Dystopia, and that incorporates at least one or two memorable songs.

Deathcore pisses me off. It really does. It makes it that much harder to be a fan of death metal, because when you do mention that you listen to death metal, it always opens the window for "Oh, so you like Suicide Silence/Bring Me the Horizon/Oceano/insert some other random shit band?". Doubtlessly, many of you feel my pain. Many of said groups try to masquerade themselves as legitimate acts, vehemently rejecting the deathcore label. Beneath the Massacre is one of said groups who present themselves as that which they are not. Conversely, they're also profoundly unconvincing.

In most circumstances, saying that an album blurs together and messily coalesces into one long, monotonous track is pure hyperbole. Not so here. In fact, I'd be a liar if I said anything else. Just to give you an idea of what it all sounds like, it's basically just a blur of absolutely mindless sweeping and tapping that reminds one of a phone left ringing that suddenly gives way to an equally obnoxious breakdown. Now, I don't mind well-placed breakdowns - if these were in the vein of Suffocation or Malignancy, I wouldn't have the slightest of issues with them. Unfortunately, they aren't. They're your typical "fight the invisible pit-ninjas" open-note chugfests. In essence, they take two of my least favorite things in metal (excessive sweep picking and open-note chug breakdowns) and shoehorn them into one massively unappealing package.

As if things couldn't get any worse, we have the vocalist. Take a deathcore vocalist, any deathcore vocalist, and I guarantee that they'll sound almost completely identical to this cat in every possible way. Needless to say, that is NOT a good thing. In fact, it only makes things a hell of a lot worse. To further add insult to injury, he also apparently does not know how to shut the fuck up. Pretty much the same goes for the drummer. I won't deny he's got some skill - indeed, the dude's speed and endurance is quite commendable. Too bad that he brings absolutely nothing else to the table. He only seems to know three things: blasts, gravity blasts, and china-cymbal overloaded breakdowns. Finally, the bassist is just there. I'm guessing he probably just copies the guitar, though I really can't tell because the bass is mixed low as fuck outside of the occasional quick fill/unbacked riff parrot.

In short, does this suck? Yes. It's an absolutely atrocious mixture of aimless wankery and puerile, obnoxious breakdowns punctuated with constant blasts and terrible vocals. I tried to find some redeeming value in it, I honestly did. I found none. All I found was something to further intensify my hatred of deathcore, especially the newer, wankier brand as practiced by Beneath the Massacre, Burning the Masses, Trigger The Bloodshed, and all their other despicable ilk.

After the awesome EP these guys laid out and the infamous failed full length, Beneath the Massacre decided to record another album. It's basically the same thing as "Mechanics of Dysfunction", exept the death metal aspect has been replaced by a more deathcore aspect. This is basically just really stale brutal/technical death metal with really boring vocals and constant deathcore breakdowns. Don't even try to look for more here, you won't find it.

Don't get me wrong, this is not really a deathcore album. Why then, is it littered with breakdowns, you're probably asking? Well, honestly I think they were going for a Suffocation styled breakdown thing that was a little more apparant on the barely even listenable debut album. This album has the distinction of being not as annoying or unlistenable, and I'll admit that unlike "Mechanics" there is actually some sort of memorable part in some of the songs as well as seemingly less random tempo changes. There is also a far greater reliance on breakdowns on here (wheras on the first album they were used less), with breakdowns being the only memorable thing in any of the songs really even after repeated listens. And the breakdowns are not the cool Suffocation kind. In fact, the song "No Future" sounds exactly like an Emmure song, being a song that is entirly a breakdown. However, if it's easier to listen to, then that means it's easier to tell it sucks, right? Correct! While it took me a long time to fully establish my opinion on the brain-grating debut full length, this one sucked from the beginning.

(sigh) Let's start with the vocals. I've listened to alot of bands, and I honestly have never heard a worse growl. Seriosuly, he sucks so bad. Not only is he monotonous, his growl is weak as well. If we would change pitch a couple times or maybe let out a scream this wouldn't be so much of a problem. But no, instead he basically shits all over this already boring enough deathcore/death metal with his shitty vocals. The guitars are hopeless shredding and the songwriting abilities of these guys is at an all time low. It's almost as bad as Emmure is at songwriting. It's just shred-shred-shred-breakdown-shred and a final breakdown for avout 16 measures of the exact same thing. Fuck that, and fuck this.

However, there are a few winners here. "Nevermore" is a rerecording from the band's only good album, their debut EP "Evidence of Inequity". There is no point to listen to it if you already have the EP but if not it's a nice little break from the other music on here. Also, closing track "Procreating the Infection", despite it's stupid title, doesn't contain a breakdown, and is a notch better than the other songs. But it's not worth it and as a song it still sucks.

Bottom line: this is basically Emmure if they tried to write technical death metal. It's just a shitload of breakdowns and a shitload of forgettable technical death metal riffs. Avoid at all costs.

I’m a fan of technicality, but not mindless wankery, which perfectly encapsulates the spirit of Beneath the Massacre’s 2008 release, Dystopia. The band, though they seem to be accomplished musicians based on their fretboard acrobatics, don’t use their well-developed skills to great effect. Rather than being stunned by the warpspeed tapping and forearm-busting blastbeating, it’s quite easy to be bored by this album, each song sounding nearly identical to the others. Clocking in at around 32 minutes, this album is practically one big song, albeit not intentionally, as in the case of Meshuggah’s Catch 33.

When I listen to death metal, I expect a crushingly heavy rhythm section, and this is an area where BTM fails to deliver. The guitars are at fault in this respect, due to the fact that this band DESPERATELY needs a separate rhythm guitarist. Christopher Bradley is a skilled musician without a doubt, but he’s simply overwhelmed by having to cover both the bases of a tech-deathcore band’s guitar duties. BTM is a band without a rhythm guitar, since the bass follows the higher-register technical guitar antics, leaving the music without an ass to sit on. Some techdeath trios work out, but this one could use another guitarist, since bassist Dennis Bradley is too busy following the upstairs fretboard dancing of the guitars.

As for drummer Justin Rousselle, this man needs to listen to some other musical styles. As a drummer myself, it pains me to hear that he’s practically forgetting that he even has toms, concentrating instead on blasting as fast as possible, then switching it up by blasting on the off beat, then maybe going back to slamming the snare on the 2s and 4s. Some actual tempo changes and syncopated beats would greatly add to the replay value of BTM’s music. Instead, the monotonous drumming contributes to the “one-long-song” feeling of this whole album. Vocalist Elliot Desgagnes doesn’t necessarily help the situation either, as his deathcore-influenced growl turns into white noise itself after about the first song.

Breakdowns. This album has plenty of ‘em. However, they are far too often the focus of the song rather than a fun little add-in to make the kids jump. Never being a fan of breakdowns myself, I find this CD hard to listen to because of the abundance of these uber-slow jumpdafuckups. If you like breakdowns however, then this CD will serve you well in your effort to find one of the heaviest brands of hardcore-influenced headbanging.

The production is decent by itself, if not a bit too distorted on the bass guitar, but it’s part of the tone they’re going for. The guitars are thin though, since they usually only play noodly higher-register riffs, and the bass overwhelms them during the chunky parts. The vocals are also a touch too loud though, and take up quite a lot of the frequency spectrum, an ironic juxtaposition with the trebly guitars.

When I listen to this CD, I hear a band trying to be heavy and technical for the sake of being heavy and technical, not to serve the music. Imagine a whole army of scene kids looking bewildered at flying fingers on fretboards going a mile a second, then all hardcore dancing at the same time during one of the countless breakdowns, and that’s this album in a nutshell.

Usually when most bands make similar releases, that’s the time for a reviewer to come in and throw some scorn on, but I guess there’s also something to be said for attempting to perfect ones formula.

The two huge factors holding back Beneath the Massacre on their previous release, “Mechanics of Dysfunction” were a lack of memorable songs, and a reliance on single-note breakdowns. In fact, the single-note breakdowns were used so often that every song had become a formula of crazy technical Necrophagist style runs, then single-note breakdowns, and nothing else. Here the guitar runs are traded off in a more even manner between actual low-end riffs, some of those riffs being variations on runs. Sure, there’s still breakdowns a plenty, but rarely are they the single-note variety, some relying on groove, others using a slow steady pounding, and other times being completely replaced with crowd spinning slams. A difficult task considering the fact that Beneath the Massacre is often blasting at full-tilt.

The voice of Elliot Desgagnés has evolved as well. In this instance his roar has a much wider, fuller tone, gaining comparisons to a monster that’s grown beyond a death metal growl or hardcore bark.

Originally this review was going to be a point lower, but after several spins, I really felt the angry emotion pouring off, and by the end, it was as if I’d finished a large meal. Certainly the audio equivalent a meat tenderizer if there ever was one.

Originally posted at www.waytooloud.com

Review originally published at http://www.teethofthedivine.com by Erik Thomas

While technically stunning, Beneath the Massacre’s transition from deathcore to a more technical death metal band on Mechanics of Dysfunction was a little short on memorability. So here is the follow up and while stylistically the band has continued their batshit insane musical pyrotechnics and uber busy delivery, they have managed to deliver a slightly more varied and memorable album.

I would argue that Beneath the Massacre now have more in common with the likes of Origin and Brain Drill rather than their deathcore contemporaries, with their ultra noodly, ridiculously complex structures, but with Dystopia, they have at least managed to add just a little restraint to their sound, and even a few breakdowns here and there, making for afar more complete album than Mechanics of Dysfunction.

Again armed with a super punchy and clinical but virtually bass guitar-less production of Yannick St Amand (as well as mastering of Alan Douches and mixing of Jason Suecof) Dystopia shreds and slices with a mechanical ferocity that’s almost robotic and programmed in its delivery, but is still deftly and often mindnumbingly complex. The opening duo of “Condemned” and “Reign of Terror” should be all you need to clue you in to the albums pace and savage intricacy. Don’t even go looking for songs to hum, tap or sing-a-long to. However, the first two songs also show the bands very slight exhumation of their debut EP with a couple of stern groove/breakdowns (especially “Reign of Terror”), though not the typical open note, bass drop kind, but simple, menacing slowdowns amid the eye of the storm.

The thing is though, the mid section of the album largely repeats the formula; tracks like “Our Common Grave”, “Harvest of Hate” and “The Wasteland” while certainly impressive slabs of dizzying ferocity, lack just a little bit of identity, thought still a little more than Mechanics of Dysfunction. The last chunk of teh album is better though as “Bitter” changes things up with a brief melodic solo and a choppier pace then “No Future” finally sees BTM slow things down for the songs opening respite, though it doesn’t last long, and when it careens into light speed, it sounds like any moment from the first two tracks. “Never More” is guilty of the same thing as it has the same merciless pace and almost the same ending breakdown as “Reign of Terror”. Luckily, very Origin-ish closer “Procreating the Infection” ends the album on a high note, with an utterly relentless display of brutality and complexity that has enough character to make it stand out on the album.

Elliot Desgagnés is still a relatively faceless, monotone vocal presence, and the bass is virtually non existent, and ultimately Dystopia is still a relatively singular minded vortex of speed and skill. I wouldn’t quite call it Mechanics of Dysfunction 2, as it has just a tad more structure and is slightly improved, but it’s still an album that’s an exhaustive listen.