Beneath the Massacre is a monster of a Death Metal band, practically coming out of nowhere with their technical and brutal style that pits the band along the means of the big boys of the style, such as Origin and early Cryptopsy. The group formed back in 2004, and since 2005 has issued two full-lengths and one previous EP, all of which did not fail to entertain. Once again, with Marée Noire, Beneath the Massacre enters the fray with an intense release that shows they deserve to the recognition they have, even if it's only for just less then thirteen minutes.
Marée Noire is an overly technical and brutal Death Metal ride. As soon as "The Casket You Sleep In" starts off, you'll be hooked with the sheer intensity and brutality that comes your way thanks to the band's mid-tempo paced music that often treads into a faster paced style due to the groups technical guitar work that shows real skill and isn't your average run of the mill fretwork, as well as the commanding gutteral vocals and equally impressive controlled drumming that adds a whole other level to the mix, sometimes going at a pace that contradicts the fury the guitars are playing, but in the end it all works together to throw the listener in various directions throughout the song to the point where he or she can end up with whiplash. Out of all the tracks on the EP, however, the song "Black Tide" really stands out due to the more traditional Death Metal guitar work that is incorporated throughout all the madness, adding a little something extra to the mix, mostly a hint of melody that one would find on traditional Death Metal albums, and it sounds phenomenal in the mix, ultimately adding a nice haunting atmosphere to the song temporarily.
The only downer about this release is that it's so short, and one of these aren't even a real track. It's been roughly two years since Beneath the Massacre issued their last album, so after all this time, one would have expected a follow-up full-length. Luckily, this EP was well worth the wait, so all griping aside about the length, there's the issue about the track on here that meerly is an introduction to another track. "Drill Baby Drill" is actually just a spoken word audio clip that lasts about forty seconds before "Designed to Strangle" hits the listener full force. This track really doesn't do anything but add time to the EP, as it simply isn't pivotol to "Designed to Strangle", but that track, as well as the insanely intricate "Anomic" closing out the EP, all make up for it in the long run.
So, yes, about forty seconds of this EP feels like a waste, but it's worth sitting through, or even skipping. Marée Noire is an intense Death Metal ride that boasts enough technical fretwork that it doesn't become too much, or even repetitive, and all the while just hits the listener with all the force it has with all the brutality one would come to expect from bands that use that term in a manner that doesn't simply throw it around. While this may seem like one of the biggest teases that fans of the style, or the band, could ever suffer through, it's well worth it, and leaves the listener craving more from the band, anxiously awaiting that next full-length release. Hopefully it will be soon, but for now, Marée Noire is the next best thing from Beneath the Massacre.
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