What is up with those French Canadian death metal bands and their proclivity toward impossibly technical death metal? Montreal's
Beneath the Massacre are just the latest upstarts to follow in the bootsteps of influential giants
Gorguts,
Cryptopsy,
Kataklysm, and
Neuraxis (to name but a few) -- cue the group's sophomore full-length, 2008's
Dystopia. Let's be clear now: this is not necessarily a knock on
Beneath the Massacre's chosen m.o. so much as a frank advisory to extreme metal fans about the predominantly cerebral nature of the band's music, which is rife with daunting instrumental accomplishment. And yes, the omnipresent Cookie Monster vocals of Elliot Desgagnés guarantee a certain amount of inherent savagery throughout, even in the face of the machine-like precision practiced by the rarely wavering double kick-drums of Justin Rouselle or systematic lead shredder Christopher Bradley. Still, the latter's head-spinning array of finger exercises frequently supplant actual guitar riffing on many of these tracks (see "Condemned," "Reign of Terror," and "Lithium Overdose" for prime examples), and his solos tend to sound structured and disciplined rather than "felt." ~ Eduardo Rivadavia