Review by Brian on March 5, 2016.

Over the last decade the number of original and memorable releases has definitely decreased. In an industry filled with cookie cutter bands being promoted, if you like that, then you'll like this. But, still sometimes there comes a band who doesn't follow conventional genre stereotypes, a band that doesn't so easily draw comparisons, sometimes there's a band...

...that band is San Francisco's Howls of Ebb. This being my first experience with the band, I won't be able to tell of progress or decline from their debut Vigils of the 3rd Eye. What I can inform you about is the genius that is Cursus Impasse: The Pendlomic Vows. The first thing that stands out is the guitar tone. They use a cleaner distortion. This is the first thing that separates them from their black and death metal peers. The bass compliments the guitars so well while each instrument gets equal representation in the mix. The sound is basement-esque. I believe this is intentional and gives it this decrepit feel.

The opener "The 6th Octopul'th Grin" blazes out of the gate deploying dissonant chords, thundering bass and rapid fire drumming. The vocals fall somewhere between death metal growls and black metal shrieks. In fact the overall sound is somewhere between the two genres.This is weird stuff. As I stated before, it is really hard to draw comparisons. Think somewhere in the realm of Hail Spirit Noir, with touches of Portal. However,that doesn't really do it justice.

Howls of Ebb, also know as HoB, capture and maintain your attention throughout the albums 7 tracks with dissonant assaults, amazing tempo changes, primitive barbaric drumming and tortured vocals. This all combines to give the listener a unique experience. This is more closely related to weirdo Norwegian progressive metal than anything in the black and death metal genres, but it is black/death metal. I love how strange it all is. If I had one complaint, it would be that some of the songs are arranged haphazardly. That being said, Cursus Impasse is a wonder piece of super-weird phantasmagoric black/death metal and Howls of Ebb are step ahead of their peers.

Review by Allan on October 15, 2003.

By the time I absorbed the opening song 'Maybe The Earth Is Flat,' all of my worries were put to rest. Eulogy Record's On Broken Wings, a six piece metalcore outfit from Boston, didn't introduce themselves with harmonized leads or half-assed screaming. Instead, they focused in on making the ground shake as they unleashed a heavy, bludgeoning sound. "Some Of Us May Never See The World" is their debut album, and already things seem very promising for these guys.

These days the melody infested hardcore scene is far too overcrowded for its own good, and even that is an understatement. On Broken Wings don't exactly fit into that roster, which of course makes me happy. Instead, they revert to keeping things down to their bare bones. Other than a subtle touch of synths and samples, to hell with all of the amiable melodies, the trappings of emo, and the pseudo emotionally charged clean sections and bright choruses... well, for the most part. What is all of that anyway? I'll tell you: it's a vein attempt at appeasing the legions of hardcore fans, and a good way to make yourself transparent and wear your influences on your sleeves.

Now, are On Broken Wings wholly original? No. But hey, at least their music has heart and soul. At least it's interesting and keeps your attention focused on the music instead of letting you drift off into other activities. Their sound is mammoth, and the death metal influence only drives the fierce rhythms and fiery vocals further into intensity. The thick, semi-warm production doesn't hurt either. The musicianship is also on the right track: tight, well played, and at times creative.

On Broken Wings provide a good listen that can be staggering and downright awesome at times. "Some Of Us May Never See The World" easily earns multiple listens and is easy to derive quite a bit of listening pleasure out of. It's not groundbreaking, and not what I would call earth shattering, but it is one of the better metalcore releases of 2003.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10

Review by Yener on July 14, 2019.

I was introduced to Beneath the Massacre around 12 months ago. I was constantly hearing their name around on forums, fanzines, etc. I never bothered to check them out because death metal these days seems to have gotten stupidly popular, and most of the bands coming out are just doing the same old shit their masters had already done more than 10 years ago. It's very rare that a powerful and talented band will casually stroll along. Beneath the Massacre are one of those bands. One night when a friend of mine sent me a track through MSN as a sampler, I was totally blown out of the water. It was exactly what these veteran ears had been looking for. I immediately launched my Opera browser, searched for a few minutes, and ordered the EP. It's fucking outstanding. 

For those of you who know me, you'll know that I love my death metal brutal, fast, and technical. Beneath the Massacre deliver the goods in every single aspect, and the production on this EP is amazing; it sounds extremely professional, and the song writing itself is very mature, which is surprising because the oldest member is just 24 years old! These guys have definitely done their homework, and then some. To keep the intro short, let’s just say that these boys know how to play their instruments way better than most in the death metal arena, and that is saying something, as there are some extraordinary players out there. 

Track one, "Comforting Prejudice" roars out of your speakers and you're instantly hit back by the force of the band. The words "holy fuck" seems to cross your lips as ferocious atonal riffing and gravity blasts are rushing through your skull. The first thing you will notice here is the insane drumming of Justin Rousselle. For someone who's only 22 fucking years old, it seems like the kid has been blasting since he was 3 years old. Extremely tight and advanced drumming, perfect for the style of the band. The guitar riffs are exceptionally original, something which is hard to find these days in death metal. The vocals provided by Elliot Desgagnés are very well done, yet not very original. But hey, they get the job done, and they have a nice, dirty snarl to them. 

"Profitable Killcount" is the first track I ever heard from these guys, and I was blown away. The intro is a nice tip o' the hat to fellow Canadians Cryptopsy, then it goes into full on headbang mode. The guitars are melodic in a strange yet pleasant way, and the drumming just does not give in. The break at 0:43 with the gravity blasts is beauty to behold. Sweep arpeggios are flying out at you from every direction, then suddenly, at 1:28, the band go into one of the grooviest, most ferocious breakdowns I've heard in a while. Fantastic stuff, it will get your head moving for sure. A Cryptopsy-esque guitar solo kicks in at 2:32, and it's pretty impressive, though the strong point of guitarist/mastermind Christopher Bradley are his riffs, most definitely. 

"Totalitarian Hypnosis" is simply sex. It's a death metal dream come true. Bizarre fret board tapping unleashes those late '80's Nintendo like melodies, and gravity blasts are all over the place. It's technicality like this that makes Necrophagist look like Cher. When the verses kick in, we are treated to some more insane sweep arpeggios and blast beats, but the impressive thing here is that it's just so goddamn tight. So tight that it very well could have been recorded in an air lock room, it's fucking ridiculous. At some points it seems pretty inhuman (thanks to the drums, which sound a bit over processed) but that just adds to the overall feel of this EP. It's tight, it's savage, and it's extremely brutal and well played. 

"Regurgitated Lullaby For The Born Dead" is one of my favourite tracks here. Drummer Justin Rousselle is the first to kick in, follow by some simple power chords, then paves the way for some more intense Nintendo-like sweep picking patterns. They use this technique quite a lot, but it always seems to fit and it's never out of place, and it's never overdone. The actual riffing in this song is very powerful, and the vocals follow everything quite nicely. One thing that is really impressive about this band are the breakdowns. I'm not a fan of slam riffs at all, and these can hardly be called so, but goddamn, are they ever devastating. The section that kicks in at 3:20 is simply fucking awesome. If Fear Factory were to play tech-death, then it would sound something like this. Absolute brilliance. 

The final track on this EP, "Nevermore" kicks in with a nice riff, then launches into full on death metal mode. By this time, you're still amazed at the sheer quality of this EP, the quality of the riffs, drumming, everything. I can't believe that these guys are so young! They shred and mosh with the best of them, if not better. Another one of those breakdowns can be found at 0:59 into "Nevermore", after which the band picks up the pace quite nicely once again, before the nice jazz interlude at 2:05. The song eventually fades out with the same breakdown found in this song. Superb. 

Like I said before, there are way too many death metal bands on the scene these days, most of them being complete shit. Almost all either lack originality or are just plain shit songwriters. Then, once every blue moon, comes a band so good, so right, that it simply cannot be mistaken for anything else. Beneath the Massacre are one of those bands which totally destroy the competition, and this album should light a fire under many asses. This, ladies and gentlemen, is how technical death metal should sound. Tight, aggressive, and downright mean. The musicianship on this album is very, very high quality, and I can't wait for the full length. If they keep this up, then they'll have me as a fan for life.

Rating: 9.2 out of 10

Review by Yener on July 14, 2019.

I was introduced to Beneath the Massacre around 12 months ago. I was constantly hearing their name around on forums, fanzines, etc. I never bothered to check them out because death metal these days seems to have gotten stupidly popular, and most of the bands coming out are just doing the same old shit their masters had already done more than 10 years ago. It's very rare that a powerful and talented band will casually stroll along. Beneath the Massacre are one of those bands. One night when a friend of mine sent me a track through MSN as a sampler, I was totally blown out of the water. It was exactly what these veteran ears had been looking for. I immediately launched my Opera browser, searched for a few minutes, and ordered the EP. It's fucking outstanding. 

For those of you who know me, you'll know that I love my death metal brutal, fast, and technical. Beneath the Massacre deliver the goods in every single aspect, and the production on this EP is amazing; it sounds extremely professional, and the song writing itself is very mature, which is surprising because the oldest member is just 24 years old! These guys have definitely done their homework, and then some. To keep the intro short, let’s just say that these boys know how to play their instruments way better than most in the death metal arena, and that is saying something, as there are some extraordinary players out there. 

Track one, "Comforting Prejudice" roars out of your speakers and you're instantly hit back by the force of the band. The words "holy fuck" seems to cross your lips as ferocious atonal riffing and gravity blasts are rushing through your skull. The first thing you will notice here is the insane drumming of Justin Rousselle. For someone who's only 22 fucking years old, it seems like the kid has been blasting since he was 3 years old. Extremely tight and advanced drumming, perfect for the style of the band. The guitar riffs are exceptionally original, something which is hard to find these days in death metal. The vocals provided by Elliot Desgagnés are very well done, yet not very original. But hey, they get the job done, and they have a nice, dirty snarl to them. 

"Profitable Killcount" is the first track I ever heard from these guys, and I was blown away. The intro is a nice tip o' the hat to fellow Canadians Cryptopsy, then it goes into full on headbang mode. The guitars are melodic in a strange yet pleasant way, and the drumming just does not give in. The break at 0:43 with the gravity blasts is beauty to behold. Sweep arpeggios are flying out at you from every direction, then suddenly, at 1:28, the band go into one of the grooviest, most ferocious breakdowns I've heard in a while. Fantastic stuff, it will get your head moving for sure. A Cryptopsy-esque guitar solo kicks in at 2:32, and it's pretty impressive, though the strong point of guitarist/mastermind Christopher Bradley are his riffs, most definitely. 

"Totalitarian Hypnosis" is simply sex. It's a death metal dream come true. Bizarre fret board tapping unleashes those late '80's Nintendo like melodies, and gravity blasts are all over the place. It's technicality like this that makes Necrophagist look like Cher. When the verses kick in, we are treated to some more insane sweep arpeggios and blast beats, but the impressive thing here is that it's just so goddamn tight. So tight that it very well could have been recorded in an air lock room, it's fucking ridiculous. At some points it seems pretty inhuman (thanks to the drums, which sound a bit over processed) but that just adds to the overall feel of this EP. It's tight, it's savage, and it's extremely brutal and well played. 

"Regurgitated Lullaby For The Born Dead" is one of my favourite tracks here. Drummer Justin Rousselle is the first to kick in, follow by some simple power chords, then paves the way for some more intense Nintendo-like sweep picking patterns. They use this technique quite a lot, but it always seems to fit and it's never out of place, and it's never overdone. The actual riffing in this song is very powerful, and the vocals follow everything quite nicely. One thing that is really impressive about this band are the breakdowns. I'm not a fan of slam riffs at all, and these can hardly be called so, but goddamn, are they ever devastating. The section that kicks in at 3:20 is simply fucking awesome. If Fear Factory were to play tech-death, then it would sound something like this. Absolute brilliance. 

The final track on this EP, "Nevermore" kicks in with a nice riff, then launches into full on death metal mode. By this time, you're still amazed at the sheer quality of this EP, the quality of the riffs, drumming, everything. I can't believe that these guys are so young! They shred and mosh with the best of them, if not better. Another one of those breakdowns can be found at 0:59 into "Nevermore", after which the band picks up the pace quite nicely once again, before the nice jazz interlude at 2:05. The song eventually fades out with the same breakdown found in this song. Superb. 

Like I said before, there are way too many death metal bands on the scene these days, most of them being complete shit. Almost all either lack originality or are just plain shit songwriters. Then, once every blue moon, comes a band so good, so right, that it simply cannot be mistaken for anything else. Beneath the Massacre are one of those bands which totally destroy the competition, and this album should light a fire under many asses. This, ladies and gentlemen, is how technical death metal should sound. Tight, aggressive, and downright mean. The musicianship on this album is very, very high quality, and I can't wait for the full length. If they keep this up, then they'll have me as a fan for life.

Rating: 9.2 out of 10