Beecher return for the 2nd time in one year
Manchester hardcore act Beecher most recent release 'Breaking The Fourth Wall' has been quite a success in the UK metal scene. Touring on the back of the album they supported well established acts such as Isis, Killswitch Engage and Poison The Well, will this new release entitled 'This Elegy, His Autopsy' offer them the same success?
As soon as the opening track, cringingly called 'It's Good Weather for Black Leather' kicks in, you know this is going to be 40 minutes of chaos. Sounding like something that The Dillinger Escape Plan would possibly come up with, 'The Womaniser and the Alcoholic' on the other hand, is a 1 minute piece which sounds slight industrial, almost like something you would hear from Nine Inch Nails. Tracks like 'Function! Function!', 'Knight the Arsonist' are pure destruction, whereas '...And the Day That He Became a Human Plumbline' almost sounds like something that Lost Prophets (GAG!!) would write. 'Not Guilty' is the slowest song on the album, with a crunching riff, sounding almost doomy, but the most bizarre and something of a filler on the album is the last track 'Reach Up To The Gods', which is purely feedback coming from the guitars and drums. This album certainly has some diverse tracks, not many are similar to each other, but how good are they?
This album is produced by Kurt Ballou of Converge in God City; the production is fairly good, although the drums are a bit quiet in the mix. The songs themselves are quite complex, almost progressive hardcore? Maybe. They are equally at home with colossal chugging metal riffage or complex stop/start interchanges, where Beecher differs from others is the ability to incorporate progressive, dreamy elements into the maelstrom.
'This Elegy, His Autopsy' offers something for most metal fans; Progressive, Drone/Doom, Hardcore and more, this will please fans of bands like Dillinger Escape Plan, Isis and perhaps Hatebreed.
A good effort from the Manchester lads, offering hardcore sounds as well as progressive time changes that appeal to most. Nothing amazing here, but most of the tracks are fairly solid and deserve recognition. A good overall album, catch them live too - that is where they really shine!