Though Canadian powerhouse Beneath the Massacre now have two releases and an EP out on the market, they've still only given us slightly over an hour's worth of actual music. For most bands that would be reason enough to complain, but these guys pack so much power into 32 minutes here on their latest Dystopia, that you have no choice but to overlook that minor complaint and just groove to 10 absolutely crushing tracks of intense, technical extreme metal. Taking their cue from death metal, hardcore, and progressive metal, Beneath the Massacre have given us a great follow-up to their breathtaking Mechanics of Dysfunction from 2007. As brutal as it is technical, Dystopia busts out of the gate with the churning "Condemned" and never lets up from there. "Reign of Terror" sees singer Elliot Desgagnes growling with plenty of ferocious menace while guitarist Christopher Bradley rips into torrents of intricate riffery, while on "Our Common Grave" the two continue on with the bombast alongside the blazing blasts from Justin Rousselle and Dennis Bradley's volleying bass lines. Desgagnes breathes fire on the monstrous "Harvest of Hate", a crushing death metal piece also highlighted by raging drum work and sick guitar shredding. Let's face it, these guys can flat out play!
Elsewhere, look for the manic "Bitter" (another excuse for Christopher to show off his commanding guitar chops), the pummeling technical metal of " Lithium Overdose", the mix of stomping breakdowns with intricate prog-metal on "Never More", and the dizzying closer "Procreating The Infection". End result is an album that's heavier, faster, more brutal, and more technical than Mechanics of Dysfunction, if that is even possible. If you liked that CD, or are into bands like Origin, Brain Drill, Nile, Decrepit Birth, Suffocation, or Cryptopsy, then you need Dystopia in your collection immediately. Wow...damn impressive. Prosthetic Records might just have one of the most dangerous bands in the extreme metal world on their label, or any other for that matter.
Track Listing
1. Condemned
2. Reign of Terror
3. Our Common Grave
4. Harvest of Hate
5. The Wasteland
6. Bitter
7. No Future
8. Lithium Overdose
9. Never More
10. Procreating The Infection
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