Beneath the Massacre

While Quebecois modern tech-death masters Beneath the Massacre whetted appetites with their stellar 2010 EP, Marée Noire, a full-length follow-up to their bone crushing Dystopia has been long overdue. The four-year wait is finally over with their latest offering, Incongruous. A natural progression from Dystopia, Incongruous features the brutal, technical and overtly complicated songwriting Beneath the Massacre have made themselves infamous for. However, the new album is more dynamic and includes much more range, with diverse rhythms and song structures. There are still those moments of Origin-style, intricate technicality ("Symptoms," "Pedestal"), but the record takes a much-needed breather with the slower instrumental title track. Elliot Desgagnés's vocals are as brutal and guttural as ever, while excellent production quality, courtesy of Cryptopsy's Chris Donaldson, takes the album to a more polished level, but with an old-school touch. Incongruous is a masterpiece from one of Canada's modern metal elite.