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Beneath the Massacre is a band I've been meaning to check out for a while – a few friends have mentioned them, I've missed them playing here a few times... So here's their latest EP, Marée noire ('"Black Tide"). The province of Quebec is known as a hotbed for technical Death Metal, something that pretty much bores me though I'm always hoping to be surprised by some band, someday. Well, Beneath the Massacre isn't quite that band, though this is still a bit better than some technical Death Metal I've been exposed to lately. The "pling-pling-pling" guitar mess is here alright, but on Marée noire it at least sounds like the guitar player is going somewhere with it – it almost has "feeling", quite a contrast with the usual mechanical feel exhibited in the genre. Still, one can't help but think that all of this stuff is just a bunch of notes thrown together just for the sake of showing off.

What saves this is the constant heaviness that can be felt throughout. This "background" makes the music (well, notes) feel less naked, somehow trying to rein in this speedy mess. It's a bit like having a train with loose wheels run over you, I guess. The vocals are more or less deep growls that get the job done and they don't get in the way. The drums are interesting when slow to mid-paced, but just like the guitars, they often steer into high-speed, go-nowhere mode. Overall, this is OK for technical Death Metal, and better than a few albums in that genre I've had the displeasure to listen to lately.