Prosthetic Records

Frothed from the fertile soil of Montreal, BENEATH THE MASSACRE‘s brand of brutally technical death metal was all but reassured as nothing but studio magic during the band’s busy 2007 and early 2008 on the road, and the band returns to prove it wasn’t a one-shot wonder with Dystopia, the band’s latest claim to the crown of Canada’s most brutal band.

With such a rich national heritage of bands both brilliantly technical and unrelentingly brutal, BENEATH THE MASSACRE’s latest foray into the extreme underground sees the band continuing to build on the interest and fanbase gained over the course of a few short years. Initially leaving extreme music fans worldwide salivating for more than 5 titillating tracks upon release of the band’s debut EP, Mechanics of Dysfunction – the band’s debut for new home Prosthetic – was unleashed upon the masses in early 2007, boasting 10 tracks combining the brutality of Suffocation, the brutal skillfulness of Origin, cacophonous melody of The Dillinger Escape Plan, and the sheer technicality of fellow Canadians Cryptopsy, all under the watchful eye of producer Yannick St-Amand (Despised Icon, Ion Dissonance).

Of course, the subsequent, relentless touring – after an early career which seemed to doom the band from hitting the road, be it by catastrophic van accidents, visa problems with crossing borders, or an early member change –BENEATH THE MASSACRE established the last few years its existence as proof positive to the metal world that a sound so extreme and technical on record could be harnessed and proven live.

With the help of endless weeks out on the road honing the band’s craft, Dystopia is subsequently the sound of a band more seasoned, more brutal, and more technically adept, while also dabbling more with the limits of extreme metal, than audiences have seen from the band yet.

Again tapping producer St-Amand and the mastering of Alan Douches (Shadows Fall, Hatebreed, Mastodon),BENEATH THE MASSACRE also called upon seasoned veteran Jason Suecof (The Black Dahlia Murder, All That Remains) into the fold for mixing, resulting in another 10 track whirlwind of finger-twisting riffs, gut-wrenchingly heavy vocals and pounding double bass that lets up even less than its predecessor, yet still retains an intelligent, introspective vocal narration of humanity and its shortcomings in a technological age. Then again, it probably doesn’t hurt that musicianship has taken a step forward after two years of constant experience out on the road both at home and abroad – or that Dystopia sees the band experimenting more with death metal’s limits and lead riffs than efforts past.

With fellow countrymen as broad, and as brutal, as Kataklysm, Cryptopsy, Neuraxis, and Gorguts and modern contemporaries like Ion Dissonance, Fuck The Facts, and Despised Icon, coupled with recurring time on the road with Germans Necrophagist, it’s no wonder why BENEATH THE MASSACRE might be seem to be a step up from their American brethren, not only in sheer heaviness but in composed, technical musicianship within the confines of song structure that doesn’t meander beyond its means, yet still pushes the limits of what extreme metal can be.