Beneath the Surface of Beneath The Massacre
After two years, Montreal based death metal band Beneath the Massacre have recently released new material in the form of an EP entitled "Maree Noir" (Black Tide). "We wanted to release an EP as opposed to full length because we knew that making a full length would be rushed, and we wanted to give our songs the attention we felt they deserved" explains Elliot Desgagnes, the bands vocalist. "The title is a reference to the oil spills which have taken place in the Gulf, it's an allusion to mankind's self destructive tendencies and environmental ignorance."
Maree Noir was produced by Chris Donaldson (Cryptopsy) and mastered by Alan Douches (Hatebreed, Converge, Shadows Fall). When asked why the depart from a familiar producer (Yannick St-Amand) Elliot replied "A couple of us have worked with Chris in the past and were happy with what he did with us, not to mention he's also closer to home which makes it easier to get in the studio and get things done. We wanted to try to get a different sound with this record and part of that is finding a new producer to help you bring out that sound."
It's clear that the change of producer helped make "Maree Noir" their best release to date as the guitar, bass, and drum sounds are crisper than ever but maintain their low end cohesiveness. With only five tracks, the EP feels like a cohesive experience from beginning to end. The opening track "Anomic" introduces spacey chopped up guitar riffs which force the listener into a trance like state as the drums and guitar shatter the trance to reveal influences that include death metal, thrash metal with a touch of black metal. As the sonic chaos fades out the trance like state is induced once again as the song bleeds into the next track.
The track listing of the EP is:
The Casket You Sleep In
Black Tide
Drill Baby Drill
Designed To Strangle
Anomic
Anomic
The trance like state is once again shattered as aggressive sweep picking guitars and a double kick barrage lay the foundation for "The Casket You Sleep In". This song uses eighth note rests in a way that leaves room for the listener to relax momentarily before the next vicious attack of aggressive drums and a furious arpeggiating guitar solo.
The title track of Maree Noir, "Black Tide" is rich with breakneck catchy guitar riffs as their melodies serve to push the song forward into a darker place. At one minute forty five seconds the guitar explodes with insane arpeggios that are bigger than the song itself, showcasing Chris Bradley's incredible sweep picking and scale work. While the song Black Tide is relatively short (2:27) listeners will find that there is no filler, this track is straight edge and to the point: which is balls to the wall, metal.
Catching the listeners attention with a catchy guitar hook, the last track "Designed to Strangle" perfectly combines the bands death and thrash metal influences sometimes doing so within the same four bars. The relentless double kick of Justin Rouselle serves as the backbone while the guitar clashes with chugging palm mutes and high harmonic squeals. "Designed to Strangle" is a fitting end to the EP as it demonstrates the bands ability to summon their influences and successfully combine them at will. "We listen to everything when we're not writing" explains Dennis Bradley (Bass), "We'll listen to Primus, Motown funk, folk, classic rock, electro pop, and even local radio just for a change of pace. You can't listen to metal all the time because then that's all you know, when that happens you cease to bring something new to the table and become stagnant as a band."
"We're most proud of this release" claims Elliot "The album came together really smoothly, and we are really happy with the recording process and the sounds we achieved." Elliot continues "I think the effort shows on this EP because it's the only album of ours that I can listen to after the fact and not be totally sick of it. I think the fans will feel the same way"
The EP was released on September 14th on Prosthetic Records in the States and Metal Blade Records in Canada. For touring info visit the bands official website Visit their myspace at http://www.beneaththemassacre.com/shows/ or their myspace @ http://www.myspace.com/btm. Special thanks to Elliot and Dennis for the interview.
Zack Brenneman
Written for Global Entertainment Magazine
http://globalentertainmentmag.com/
Published September 23rd 2010
