Beecher - This Elegy, His Autopsy
Earache - MOSH319CD - 2005
By Philip Whitehouse
It must be pretty damned frustrating to be Manchester-based noise/metalcore mob Beecher. Despite their debut full-length, Breaking The Fourth Wall getting a positive reaction from critics and 'scenesters' alike, the group have been dogged with comparisons to Converge and The Dillinger Escape Plan from day one. However, while the references to TDEP are somewhat lazy (not every band with chaotic/technical riffage wants to be them), the Converge ones are a little easier to understand. Apart from the fact that Kurt Ballou produced this and the last record at his God City studio, inattentive listening can throw up a Jane Doe vibe to some of the riffage.
However, inattentive listening does This Elegy, His Autopsy a huge disservice. This is a more mature and focused Beecher, still as capable of (and keen on) blaring forth with band-falling-down-stairs tech-aggro riffs, but also far more handy with a hook. The likes of 'Function! Function!' are blessed with memorable, impactful riffage that stays in your head. There's also a penchant for Refused-esque experimental electronica to creep in on the action from time to time, providing an intriguiging and dynamically pleasing counterpoint to the more full-on passages. The tempo varies, also - final track 'Reach Up To The Gods' is an epic-sounding, slow-burning bludgeon of a track, reminiscent in places of Cult Of Luna's earlier work, while 'Psycho Galvanic Skin Response' blasts from the speakers like shrapnel from a grenade blast.
The production too is well-suited to the material - analogue-sounding, warm guitar tones put you in the centre of the stereo field, while the more ambient moments (like relaxing-yet-unsettling '...And On That Day He Became A Human Plumbline') have a great sense of space and depth that aid the immersive nature of the material. Overall, This Elegy, His Autopsy is an impressive step forward in the growth of Beecher, and a more-than-worthy album in its own right.
8/10
Official Beecher Website
Official Earache Records Website
Earache - MOSH319CD - 2005
By Philip Whitehouse
It must be pretty damned frustrating to be Manchester-based noise/metalcore mob Beecher. Despite their debut full-length, Breaking The Fourth Wall getting a positive reaction from critics and 'scenesters' alike, the group have been dogged with comparisons to Converge and The Dillinger Escape Plan from day one. However, while the references to TDEP are somewhat lazy (not every band with chaotic/technical riffage wants to be them), the Converge ones are a little easier to understand. Apart from the fact that Kurt Ballou produced this and the last record at his God City studio, inattentive listening can throw up a Jane Doe vibe to some of the riffage.
However, inattentive listening does This Elegy, His Autopsy a huge disservice. This is a more mature and focused Beecher, still as capable of (and keen on) blaring forth with band-falling-down-stairs tech-aggro riffs, but also far more handy with a hook. The likes of 'Function! Function!' are blessed with memorable, impactful riffage that stays in your head. There's also a penchant for Refused-esque experimental electronica to creep in on the action from time to time, providing an intriguiging and dynamically pleasing counterpoint to the more full-on passages. The tempo varies, also - final track 'Reach Up To The Gods' is an epic-sounding, slow-burning bludgeon of a track, reminiscent in places of Cult Of Luna's earlier work, while 'Psycho Galvanic Skin Response' blasts from the speakers like shrapnel from a grenade blast.
The production too is well-suited to the material - analogue-sounding, warm guitar tones put you in the centre of the stereo field, while the more ambient moments (like relaxing-yet-unsettling '...And On That Day He Became A Human Plumbline') have a great sense of space and depth that aid the immersive nature of the material. Overall, This Elegy, His Autopsy is an impressive step forward in the growth of Beecher, and a more-than-worthy album in its own right.
8/10
Official Beecher Website
Official Earache Records Website
