Review by Greg on March 5, 2025.

Heralded by the stupendous Mark Cooper artwork (not his first, for sure), When Time Becomes Loss arrives in a strange time for California act Hemotoxin. After three accomplished full-lengths, indeed, band leader Michael Chavez (also in Condition Critical and Ripped to Shreds) ended up composing and playing this one (almost) all by himself, with the help of some very special guests. Whatever the reason for it, this looks like an interesting listen regardless.

Now, I don't know their other music, but for a band labeled as thrash/death sure there's a lot of progressive/technical/however-you'd-define-Death influences. Chavez's voice is the main culprit for sure, echoing Schuldiner's inflection more than truly aping his growl in each and every aspect, but I was still wondering if that alone was enough to warrant a progressive tag, until my ear fell on one of the numerous guitar solos of the record. They're all exquisite, extensive, with a superb penchant for melody, often not even shredding in the usual sense, but feeling and sustaining each note in an almost prog rock fashion. It's kinda shocking to hear such amounts of melody in a death metal album. Truth be told, opener 'Morbid Reflection' is a bit of an exception, ruined with a noisy drift towards squeals and dive bombs that unfortunately clash with the overall vibe, but it's almost a venial sin. If anything, it means the album actually gets better as tracks go by.

At its core, Hemotoxin's formula is simultaneously simple and something that has rarely been attempted: take the off-kilter riffing of the pioneering prog/tech death metal band (the usual suspects – Death, for sure, but also early Cynic, Atheist, etc.), add more thrash tendencies, blast beats (and a hefty amount of those), courtesy of no less than Scott Fuller, and of course those aforementioned, uniquely prominent solos. Cynically (heh) speaking, one could say that there isn't a whole lot of variation between the seven tracks, but when each one has something interesting going on, to the point I have trouble choosing a favourite, I'm not one to fuss over it. Additionally, everything is delivered in a rather condensed playing time. Maybe too condensed, as the whole album doesn't even reach half an hour – but again, no complaints on my part, as long as this means they managed to keep a better focus (okay, this is starting to get out of hand).

And lo and behold, it does. There isn't a single dull moment to be found on When Time Becomes Loss even if you hunted high and low for it. The solos are most certainly the highest points in any track, but outside of those, the moments that stuck the most with me were also too many to mention: the awesome bass in the intro of 'Conscious Descent', the totally awesome riff at 0:56 of 'Abstract Commands' leading to the better part of the track, the all-around explosive 'Call From The Abyss'... I've rarely heard 29 minutes as impressive and jam-packed with delicious stuff. The last two tracks are Hemotoxin's testbed for longer episodes, and show that Chavez isn't limiting himself to a maximum of 4 minutes per song just due to weak songwriting skills. Whereas 'Reborn In Tragedy' feels just a tiny inch too meandering, before a gigantic and outrageously wonderful solo (seriously, those first notes have no right to be that awesome), the closer and title-track makes the definitive statement, rising as the album's most shining star. Three solos (including a sweet one by Condition Critical's Tony Barhoum that fits perfectly) and a beautiful ending round off the tracklist on the highest note, as well as the most melodic. A fantastic track.

When Time Becomes Loss is the kind of work that made me wonder what the hell I've been paying attention to all these years, instead of listening to Hemotoxin. It's an impressive death metal album, taking the best part of the old-school without any of the caveats of the modern, overcrowded OSDM scene, and still immensely enjoyable for the thrasher who's not afraid of leaning a bit towards more obscure, cavernous boundaries (even if the bright artwork does wonders to lure you in anyways). I can definitely interpret this as a more extreme and sped-up version of Chilean Ripper, or maybe prime Exmortus (i.e., the only truly impressive era of the band) going easier – but no less awesomely – on the fretboard. Honestly, if all the bands I've mentioned throughout this review weren't enough to convince you to check it out, do you even like metal? Clearly among the elite of 2024 releases.

Rating: 8.8 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