REVIEW: Beneath the Massacre - Fearmonger [2020]

Artist: Beneath the Massacre

Album: Fearmonger

            Lets talkabout comebacks. Where the recent couple years has brought about a trend withinthe heavy music community of resurgence, not every comeback is really…you know, a true, heart-rate-spiking,blood-pressure-heightening comeback.In fact, more often than not, these days “comebacks” are a sort of recycling,wherein a band will announce a breakup, wait nine months, and much like adystopian, cannibalistic pregnancy, explode back into the scene. It makes somemoney, keeps the internet hype machine churning, and life goes on. But whatabout those comebacks that are realgoddamn comebacks? We’ve seen a bunch of those too—Through the Eyes of theDead, And Hell Followed With and now, technical deathcore juggernauts Beneaththe Massacre. Perhaps one of the forerunners of contemporary technical deathcore,Beneath the Massacre return with a heaping dose of French Canadian fury. Ladenwith lurid breakdowns, skin-flaying riffs and instrumentation so technical thetime changes will give you whiplash, Fearmongeris a frightening display of aggression, power and prowess from an act the heavymusic community likely didn’t even realize they missed as much as it turns outthey did.

            In a word, Fearmonger is horrifying. Intense,technical and ruthlessly heavy all in one oppressive juggernaut, Beneath theMassacre have spared no expense to create a record reminding the heavy musiccommunity why their name carries the weight that it does. From “Rise of theFearmonger,” through “Treacherous” and “Bottom Feeders” and all the way to thebitter end of “Bitterest End,” the band never stop hitting the listener withlacerating leads that guide themselves gracefully into gritty, gut-bustingbreakdowns. Percussionist Patrice Hamelin provides everything from machine-gunblast beats to mind-melting footwork and furious fills to give songs like “OfGods and Machines” an immaculate foundation. Meanwhile, “Hidden in Plain Sight”is perhaps the only real example ofHamelin’s more straightforward side of drumming, using punchy patterns withquick flashes of technicality to work with bassist Dennis Bradley’s beefy lowend. Bradley’s bass work gives even the quick and stuttering breakdowns in Fearmonger lasting punch and power, andadds depth to the lightning-like riffs and leads from guitarist ChristopherBradley. Together, both Bradleys launch a ceaseless assault on the listener,with groovy bass serving as scaffolding for sinister fretwork. “Rise of theFearmonger” sees the band brilliantly balancing aggression with intricacy,whereas “Treacherous” and “Bottom Feeders” go right for the throat, dominatingwith devastating brutality. In truth, the Bradleys strike an amazing balancebetween absurd technicality and digestible, comfortable deathcore, weaving astrong, dynamic element of technical death metal between raunchy breakdowns andspine-shrinking slams with rare moments of ethereality and ambience. Thisdynamic gives Fearmonger the fury andintensity of a hypertechnical deathcore release with the same replay value andvariety of more moderate releases within the genre(s) Beneath the Massacrespan.

            Fearmonger’s vocals are just as fearsomeas Beneath the Massacre’s musicianship, with frontman Elliot Desgagnés’overwhelmingly dominating feature being his proclivity for diversity. Fearmonger is home to nigh on countlessvocal styles and pitches, ranging from grisly, guttural bellows to shrillscreams and raw mid-range shouts. “Rise of the Fearmonger,” the record’sintroductory number, does an excellent job of displaying that, even as astandalone track. However, as Fearmongercontinues, Desgagnés’ range and endurance only continues to impress. Songs like“Bottom Feeders” highlight this, with energy and intensity matching his abilityto hit high and low screams with seemingly little effort. Where Beneath theMassacre’s vocal element could have easily been swept under the rug by Fearmonger’s furious instrumentation, itdoesn’t—it thrives on the chaos and still sets itself apart, dominating thelistener’s attention in equal share as does the remainder of the record’sequally impressive components.

            People havebeen talking about “best comebacks” for the last couple years now, and I don’tthink it’s an exaggeration to say that Beneath the Massacre’s Fearmonger might be one of—if not the—best one yet. Hitting everythingfrom nostalgia to gnarly intensity without sacrificing technicality ortremendous brutality, Beneath the Massacre have created one of the mostmasterful examples of technical deathcore the genre has seen perhaps since itsinception.

9.5/10

For Fans Of: Rose Funeral, And Hell Followed With, Rings ofSaturn

By: Connor Welsh