Beneath the Massacre

After years of watching Canada’s most important metal acts come out of a single province there remains little doubt that this region’s musical history is approaching the infamy of heavy music’s most notable niches. Montreal’s Beneath the Massacre is yet another testament to Quebec’s dominance in putting extreme Canadian acts on the world stage. Borrowing heavily from Suffocation and fellow countrymen Cryptopsy, they seamlessly combine a classic light speed approach with a more modern take on tech. They construct complex melodies, relentlessly ploughing up and down the fretboard, focusing on building parts from as many notes, as fast as humanly possible. For the most part they stick to this blazing brand of death metal but their idea of dynamics leans more towards the metalcore highlights of tech bands like Ion Dissonance. Several tough guy chug fests threaten to bring them into the realm of breakdown monotony but these worries are quickly dispelled by their ability to shred with the best of them. It is said all good things must things come to an end but if this band are any indication of the direction in which Quebecois metal is headed, the massacre is only beginning.