Beneath the Massacre – Dystopia (Prosthetic Records)
Friday, 15th March 2013
Deathcore is still getting a fair amount of air time, which means that its time is almost up and thank Sweet Jesus for that. While we’re at it, it’s probably important to pick up on the bands that might actually have a chance of sustaining a long career. Three albums into their career, the jury is no longer out on Montreal’s Beneath the Massacre – these Canucks are going to be hanging around for a while.
Falling somewhere between the over-the-top guitar bombast of All Shall Perish and the sheer brutality of Whitechapel, Beneath the Massacre manage to keepDystopia engaging through its first half thanks largely in part of guitarist Christopher Bradley’s swift guitar work. Bradley rarely riffs, instead opting to push forward with manic scale runs and the occasional beatdown lurch, which is far and away the weakest part of the band’s sound.
There are throttling moments in the beatdown vein, however, like in “No Future” and the tornado-like “The Wasteland.” The band works best when justgoing for it, like on opener “Condemned” or “Our Common Grave.” Problem is, we’ve heard everything Beneath the Massacre can offer come “Never More,” which comes in at track #9, perhaps giving headway a few songs could have been trimmed off Dystopia.
In spite of the almost deafening sensory and sonic overload, Beneath the Massacre is the cream of the deathcore crop, which frankly, isn’t saying a whole lot. Sad thing is, 10 years ago, this would be pure technical death metal. Today, it has to run up against the throng of like-minded bands who couldn’t put together a song if you diagrammed it for them. Dystopia is better than that garbage, for sure.
www.myspace.com/beneaththemassacre
(This content originally appeared on Blistering.com)
