Beneath the Massacre – Dystopia
Montreal, Quebec, Canada technical death metal band Beneath The Massacre has made quite an impact in the genre within a short period of time. Their debut album, 2007’s Mechanics Of Dysfunction, was a hit amongst fans, who were drawn by their brutal and uncompromising sound. On Dystopia, their sophomore album, Beneath The Massacre has largely kept to the sound of their first album, which is both a blessing and a curse for the young band.
“Condemned” is a fantastic opener, with the fast feet of Justin Rousselle being the highlight. The band doesn’t let up for the rest of the running length, with the filler instrumental “Harvest of Hate” being the only reprise from the madness on display. Don’t expect any acoustic introductions or keyboard-tinged bridges; Beneath The Massacre has one speed and never lets off the gas pedal.
The problem lies with the lack of variety in the songwriting department and the excessive use of breakdowns. The songs on Dystopia blend together near the end of the album, with only a few leads by guitarist Christopher Bradley on “The Wasteland” and “No Future” to help differentiate tracks. Beneath The Massacre utilizes the dreaded breakdowns, which is a good technique to get the fans headbanging at live shows, but can boggle down a song. “Never More” is guilty of this, as half of the song is one long breakdown that gets highly repetitive near the end. While none of the other breakdowns are as cringe-worthy, the band seems to be talented enough that they don’t need to constantly rely on breakdowns for an aggressive effect.
Even with the criticisms I have placed on Dystopia, the album is a solid follow-up to Mechanics Of Dysfunction. If you are looking for more of the same from Beneath The Massacre, Dystopia will quench your thirst. The band is as sharp as they have ever been, but that comes with a price. Fans looking for an evolution will have to wait a little longer. There are enough songs on here to show that the songwriting well hasn’t run dry yet, but Beneath The Massacre will have to show something new on future releases in order to compete with other icons in the technical death metal bands (Nile, Cynic, Origin).
Rating: 6.5
Label: Prosthetic Records
Website: http://www.myspace.com/btm
By Dan Marsicano
(+23 rating, 7 votes)
“Never More” comes from their first EP, hence the huge breakdown.
If you’ve ever heard Never More live, you’ll know why they repeat it so much. Great album, though I was expecting a little more from the drummer.
Incredibly boring band. Talented though.
“Bitter” and “The Wasteland” are two of the best tech death songs I have heard in a while. If you’re not going to get the album then just download those songs, and maybe “Our Common Grave” too. The rest of the album is pretty repetitive.
Amazing bad! Just lets it go with the speed just crazy.. When i first listened to the cd it was like fkin a. It took me a while to get the feel of it… But amazing stuff going to be great coming around with Despised icon, Carnifex, Neuraxis and The Plasmarifle..!
this cd is awesome and this reveiwer sucks a fatty
Man, “Nevermore” was off of their EP….They just redid it for this new album, and quite frankly(sp) I prefer this version better…..I dont think you can really judge their CD without seeing them live…Every time they come by my town I go and see them because they always put on a great show…..So if you are going to say their album lacks because of breakdowns you need to readjust yourself….After doing all the tapping and extremely technical parts I’d want to play a breakdown too to give my hand some kind of a rest