2005-10-28
Beecher's sophomore album is a combination of so many genres, so many twists and turns, and so many complex guitar riffs, it takes quite a while to take it all in.
The British metal scene is certainly not famous for its metal core bands, but this Manchester born band is sure to change that, starting out as a instrumental piece, the band did a smart move in enlisting vocalist Ed Godby, a powerful screamer, his inclusion in the band gives a good focal point in the barrage of complex guitar riffs and highly technical drumming, thus making the songs clearer and easier to comprehend.
The album also benefits from a very good production, courtesy of Converge's Kurt Ballou, giving the album another similarity to some Converge releases that's already there in a few of the tracks, but taken apart and dismantled, Beecher are in a league of their own.
The album opens with the brilliant "It's Good Weather For Black Leather', it opens with a blast beat before delving into more typical hard core riff, and then goes into a fusion oriented bridge, the ease these guys jump from one style to another is uncanny, and Godby also abuses a variety of shouted vocals, adding to the sense of schizophrenia evident in the song.
"Function! Function!" Is closer to a straight forward hard core track, basic hard core riffing and vocals, a truly energetic turn by Godby also elevates the track, great lead line at the end as well.
"The Womaniser And The Alcoholic" is this weird, ambient sounding section, bringing to mind Isis, leading to Knight The Arsonist, another brilliant cut with jazz-like sections, and a great, aggressive guitar riff.
Next in line is the insane - "Not Guilty", a sludgy track with plenty of feedback with some hellish screaming, scary shit.
"And On The Day That He Became A Human Plumb Line" is actually an instrumental piece with spoken passages, starts with an interesting clean guitar, and then there's a really good Grungy riff, the drum work on the track is fantastic, this is probably what the band used to sound like in their pre-vocals period.
It'll probably take me a few more weeks to fully absorb the brilliance of this album, its intelligent aggression grows on you with each consecutive listen, but the sheer technical prowess of the people involved is immediately evident.
Alon Miasnikov
