Formed in Montreal, Quebec in April of 2004 by Elliot Desgagnes (vocals), Christopher Bradley and Christian Pepin (guitars), Dennis Bradley (bass), and Justin Rousselle (drums), they wasted no time in putting out the Evidence of Inequity EP the following year on the local indie label Galy Records, while Pepin left around the time that it was released. Various local and regional shows followed and the band built up a reputation as one to look out for that was not hurt by a van accident in Ontario that put a Canadian tour on hold, and in 2006, they inked a deal with Prosthetic Records. Multiple tours and fests throughout Canada and the US followed, and in early 2007, Mechanics of Dysfunction, their debut full-length, had been released to positive reviews. An absolute blitzkrieg of touring followed that left them with just barely enough time to run back into the studio, and Dystopia, their second full-length, was released in late 2008 and was supported with another barrage of touring, including several European runs. 2009 came and went and was mostly spent on the road, but they also found time to run back to the studio again, this time for an EP. Maree Noire was released in September of 2010, but the touring had begun to slow down, and the band mostly supported it with European runs, fests, and local shows throughout Quebec and Ontario. They reentered the studio once again in 2011 to record a third full-length; after recording it, however, Justin Rousselle left the band, leaving them without a drummer. Quebecois drummer extraordinaire Patrice Hamelin stepped in to save the day, and their first European run in 2012 in support of Incongruous was with him being the kit, and it was sometime after this that he agreed to join. Various local shows followed, and 2013 brought another European run followed by a US headlining run in the fall. After this, their activity almost completely fell off. Aside from local shows and appearances at Amnesia Rockfest and Heavy Montreal, nary a peep was head from them for four years. Word of God was that they weren't dead, but they also weren't up to much and would likely not be changing this any time soon.
Early 2018 brought surprising news, however; in a podcast, their agent leaked some news about them: not only were they indeed not dead, but they were working on new material and plotting a return to touring in the near-ish future. While he didn't elaborate, it was indeed music to the ears of fans, and anticipation has grown for a proper announcement. While it took longer than expected, this finally happened in 2019, when the band announced their first tour in six years, and a deal with Century Media Records and the announcement of Fearmonger, their first album in eight years, came several months later. Additionally, Patrice Hamelin made an unannounced exit due to health problems, and Anthony Barone took his spot on at least a studio basis.
Discography:
- Evidence of Inequity (2005) (EP)
- Mechanics of Dysfunction (2007)
- Dystopia (2008)
- Maree Noire (2010) (EP)
- Incongruous (2012)
- Fearmonger (2020)
This band contains examples of the following tropes:
- The Anti-Nihilist: The core theme of Maree Noire: life has no inherent meaning beyond what we ascribe to it, but you have literally no reason to not do everything you can to enjoy it.
- Ascended Extra: Patrice Hamelin.
- Career-Ending Injury: Patrice Hamelin was forced to leave both Beneath the Massacre and Contrarian due to serious back problems. Ultimately subverted, as he was able to return to Beneath the Massacre on at least a live basis in late 2019 after receiving physical therapy.
- Deathcore: Firmly on the death metal side of the spectrum, though they skewed most heavily towards it on Evidence of Inequity and Dystopia. They largely turned away from it on Maree Noire aside from a few breakdowns.
- Early-Installment Weirdness: Evidence of Inequity was noticeably less technical and more breakdown-oriented than their later material; while plenty of their established stylistic elements were on full display, not even Dystopia had that much of an emphasis on breakdowns.
- Lead Drummer: Patrice Hamelin is famous for his incredible speed, versatility, technical ability, and power, as well as his many short-notice fill-ins for bands that suddenly find themselves in need of a drummer. Anthony Barone, meanwhile, is also famous for his technical ability and his Youtube channel.
- Metal Scream: Elliot Desgagnes is a firm Type 2 with shades of a Type 1.
- Never Bareheaded: It is highly unlikely that anyone has ever seen Christopher Bradley without a baseball hat on.
- Protest Song: Their main lyrical focus, though they started to embrace more personal and introspective lyrical themes with Maree Noire.
- Sibling Team: The Bradley brothers.
- Signature Style: Chaotic and extremely complex tapping leads mixed with extremely fast tremolo and string-skipping riffs that commonly make use of stop-start motifs, as well as stuttering, odd-timed breakdowns that often make use of whammy bar divebombs to create a disorienting effect (as well as the occasional traditional deathcore breakdown, particularly in "Nevermore", "Reign of Terror", and "Lithium Overdose") and slam breaks, all accompanied by Elliot Desgagnes' trademark staccato bellow/bark.
- Technical Death Metal: Very much on the brutal side of the spectrum, and even at their most deathcoreish, they were still rooted in this.
- Trope Codifier: For technical deathcore, specifically the more brutal side of the spectrum, as their influence can easily be felt on acts like Rings of Saturn, Aversions Crown, Brand of Sacrifice, Infant Annihilator and A Night in Texas.
