Beneath “2009 demo”

Beneath is a raging death metal band from Iceland that apparently works quickly and efficiently, because they didn't finalize their lineup until November of last year, and they had already recorded this killer four-song demo by January!? Expect 16-and-a-half minutes of expertly recorded and tightly performed chugging, churning, blasting death metal that blows up right off the bat and plows through loads of dense rhythms, obscured dissonance, melodic leads, and colorful percussive flare. The percussion's a little rigid sounding during the fastest moments, so I'd prefer more of a natural drum tone there, but it's easy to get past the tautness of the blasts seeing as everything else is so massive and balanced. Plus, the songwriting provides a good variety of speed and intensity with pockets of breathing room and just the right amount of technicality, so it's not some whirlwind of blinding riffs and relentless speed by any means, there's a lot of feeling and movement within the compositions that certainly works in the band's favor. I know they're looking for a label to release their debut full-length, and based on the overwhelming quality of these recordings I'm guessing (and hoping) that they won't have much trouble in that department. This is easily better than the majority of what I hear coming from newer death metal bands as of late—especially those in the demo stages—so best of luck to these guys in reaching that next level. I'll be looking forward to it...

Beneath "Oblivious"

I'm not sure if the band is selling copies of the demo or not, but get in touch with them via the MySpace link above to inquire about getting your hands on a copy...