Incongruous
Prosthetic
The metal scene is absolutely flooded with bands of a technical variety, and it goes without saying there's a fight to get to the very top. Based on their previous record, 'Dystopia', I wouldn't count Montreal, Canada's Beneath the Massacre in that upper echelon, as my expectations for that record were somewhat dampened by a lack of creativity that stifled the promise shown on their debut effort 'Mechanics of Dysfunction'.
Still, that hasn't stopped this brutal crew from ploughing forth. New album 'Incongruous' is another 11 tracks of brutal technical death metal from the French-Canadians, and long time fans and indeed those who simply have BTM on their radar shouldn't expect anything different to before. The guitars weedle, squeal and dizzy more than ever before, as the quartet blast their way through eleven punishing tracks. Songs such as 'Hunted' and 'It' breathe menace and punishing complexity. It's still the same old same old, a problem in that everything risks bleeding into one another, but Beneath The Massacre have wisened up a little, showing improved intelligence and less reliant on breakdowns, which were too numerous on 'Dystopia' and too one-dimensional. Even when they do go for the chug there's a little more invention, giving them a sharper edge.
All said and done, 'Incongruous' is a step up from 'Dystopia', despite being largely more of the same. There's still a few kinks here and there but for the large part, there's improvement. It won't set the world alight, but its a positive sign of a band maturing into an effective killing machine. They're not such a known name over here, especially with so many tech heads about and after two full lengths as well. 'Incongruous' ought to at least ensure that doesn't stretch to three.
Peter Clegg
Buy 'Incongruous' here
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