| Advertisement |
|
Local Guides
|
|
|
BENEATH THE MASSACRE
|
by
Sean Palmerston
February 2 - 8, 2006 |
|
For three decades, Quebec has been a hotbed for
original, intelligent metal music. From Voivod in the ’80s,
to Cryptopsy, Gorguts and Kataklysm in the ’90s, up to
this decade’s new breed, which includes such
groundbreaking acts as Despised Icon, Ion Dissonance
and Neuraxis, the province has always had some of the
best metal bands in the scene.
You can add Montreal’s Beneath The Massacre to that
list. Formed out of the ashes of another group, Observing
the Fallen Tree, when its members were still in high
school, BTM is currently turning the metal underground
on its ear with their frantic, grinding brand of death metal.
“After a few years of playing shows and stuff with our old
band, some felt that it was time to get serious,” explains
vocalist Elliot Desgagnés in a recent email interview. “In
order to get the job done we had to make a few line–up
changes. I went from bass to lead vocals and our lifetime
friend Dennis joined on bass. For obvious reasons, we
changed the name of the band.”
“Not long after the beginning of the new band, one of
the guitarists quit because he didn’t want a serious band
and all the work related to that. So the final line–up
became Elliot Desgagnés, signer; Christopher Bradley,
guitar; Justin Rouselle, drums; and Dennis Bradley,
bass.
“From day one, we knew what the band would sound
like,” he continues. “We never stop and think how a
song should sound. The sound that we have now seems
to be the only thing we can play and feels right to play.”
The first release by the band is the mini–album
Evidence of Inequity, issued last year on the influential
Quebec metal label Galy Records. The five song CD is a
sonic maelstrom of furious guitar riffing, nearly inhuman
blast beat drumming and enough interesting twists and
turns in each song to make the listener take notice. This
just isn’t your average run of the mill, cookie cutter death
metal outfit.
The album has received quite a lot of positive feedback
in the metal underground, with rave reviews from both
fans and critics alike. But as Desgagnés explains, they
were pretty much oblivious as to what the outside world
might think during its creation.
“We started the band without thinking of people’s
reaction,” he says. “We were basically doing what we
like to do and never thought about critics.
“When our label started to send us reviews, we were
blown away. Not only did people like it, but they wanted
to hear even more. It feels good to see that people like
your stuff. It makes us want to write more new songs and
to go back into the studio as soon as possible.”
Said mini–album was actually recorded as a five–piece.
The band then featured a second guitarist, Christian
Pepin, who left the band after the sessions, as he wasn’t
prepared to commit as much as the others. As the five
songs feature a lot of harmonized twin guitars and
layering of two guitars throughout, the question arose as
to whether the band has trouble creating that same feel
when performing live. As Desgagnés explains, they are
dealing with the situation in the short–term while a long–
term solution is being sought out.
“Some harmonized stuff might not sound as good live,”
says Desgagnés, “but I think we are doing pretty good.
We are still looking for a second guitarist but we do not
want to rush things as we do feel comfortable on stage
with just the four of us. We have all known each other for
so many years that I think it will be hard for us to accept a
new member in the band.”
The group hasn’t had a lot of touring experience outside
of their native Quebec to date, but that’s not for lack of
trying. Last summer they were asked to tour Western
Canada and the US supporting fellow Quebecers
Neuraxis, but didn’t make it much past Thunder Bay, ON
when an unfortunate accident ended their road trip early
and nearly cost them their lives.
“We didn’t rest enough the night before,” says
Desgagnés “and the driver fell asleep. So we crashed
our van into a huge ditch after doing numerous rollovers.
We are so lucky that no one got seriously hurt, I mean, a
lot of people die in smaller crashes. We got out of the
van seconds after the crash going ‘What the hell just
happened?’
“The hardest part of the crash, however, was the
financial problems related to it: we still don’t have a new
van, and it cost us a fortune in shipping to get everything
and ourselves back home.”
It has taken the band a little while to get back on track,
but fueled by the great response to their mini–album, the
band is gearing up for much more activity in 2006.
“It will be a busy year for us,” says Desgagnés. “It is now
official, we’ll be recording our first full–length album with
Yannick St–Amand (Despised Icon, Ion Dissonance) in
June. We will then be leaving for a US tour with Neuraxis
right after the recording. The new CD should come out in
the fall, so we expect more touring at that time. So yeah,
a lot of work in our jam room for the next couple of
months so that the new CD will be ready to be recorded
in June.”
If the full–length album ends up as monstrous as last
year’s EP—and there is no reason why it shouldn’t—get
used to seeing the name Beneath The Massacre in print
a lot more. See for yourself this Sunday before the band
becomes more than just an underground phenomenon.
V
BENEATH THE
MASSACRE
Sunday, February 5
THE UNDERGROUND
41 Catharine St. N.
905.741.7625
|
Share on
 |
No comments yet... be the first! |
|
