Martyr (CAN) - Feeding the Abscess (2006)^{Release ID: 8847}

With my taste for tech-death rooted firmly in the likes of Gorguts and Ulcerate, the third full-length from Canadian mob Martyr does leave me conflicted overall.  As noted on other reviews/comments on the site, the album wanders from just wearing a tech-death uniform to testing the threads and treads of technical thrash metal also whilst retaining just enough elements of Death to feel the record is firmly rooted the right side of the divide to exemplify it's tech-death roots as being the core element of it's genetic make-up.

The fact is though that I really do not like the clean vocals that get deployed here and the technical mastery of the instrumentation, although enticing and well-developed enough still does not temper my overall dissatisfaction with the vocal style.  That having been said, I am not a massive fan of Voivod either so this is hardly a surprise to me, given the close links to the aforementioned prog-thrash legends.

If I focus on the positives for a moment, there's an album of high quality and interesting tech-death/thrash instrumentation on display here that exercises the mind as well as the eardrums.  It occupies a rarefied atmosphere that some may find it hard to breath or spend extended time within the confines of its climate, yet all will find some element of entertainment during however long they decide to stick around for.

Overall, it doesn't work for me.  It relies too much using one element of its construct (the instrumentation) to distract me away from that vocal style that I figure I would still struggle with to some degree even in a more obvious thrash environment.  Even the more ugly and guttural aspects to the vocals do not sell me the project all that well as there needs to be more of this to really get me focused.

So look... if you love highly technical, complex & precise yet still extreme metal then "Feeding The Abscess" should be a no-brainer as it's a beautifully composed, produced & executed record that almost defies genrification. If that doesn't sound like your bag then I'd advise you to steer well clear of it. Martyr are super talented & pull off some amazing rhythmic stunts but you really do have to be onboard with that idea or you'll likely struggle due to the reliance on showmanship over song-writing. Looking back now, Martyr do seem like a bit of a supergroup in that bassist front man Daniel Mongrain was formally of Cryptopsy & Gorguts & is currently with Voivod while drummer Patrice Hamelin is the current drummer in Gorguts & none of that is surprising when you hear "Feeding The Abscess" for the first time. These dudes fucking know their way around their instruments & the precision on display is nothing short of phenomenal.

I really do think the technical death metal tag is a little limiting here because Martyr's sound never feels constrained by the death metal genre. Sure there are blast beats, some grindy death metal riffs here & there & the occasional death grunt but the majority of the album is much more progressive than that & Daniel Mongrain's vocals generally sit much closer to thrash than they do to death metal. In fact, they're really the limiting factor with this release as Daniel's monotonous tone & phrasing sees Martyr failing to reach the top tier despite the band's clear credentials. This is an outstanding record from an instrumental point of view & I can't help but think that the band would have been better served by employing a) a higher register clean vocalist that adds a layer of melody & memorability to the equation or b) a full-on death grunter who can accentuate the brutality in Martyr's sound. What they've gone for here seems to have taken an each-way bet that hasn't quite satisfied either preference.

The production is spectacular, mind you, & if you're a fan of progressive metal in general then you'll likely get a fair bit of enjoyment out of the no-holds-barred approach "Feeding The Abscess" takes with regards to composition. There are very few rules being adhered to here & the level of musicianship required to achieve the final result is nothing short of mind-blowing. I particularly enjoy the drumming & lead guitar work, both of which are accentuated by the outstanding production. Just listen to the depth in those kick drums for example.

Overall, "Feeding The Abscess" is a great choice for a feature album & with some more interesting vocals it may just have gone on to be known as a classic release. I'm just not sure The Horde was the right place for it to be honest because it's more of a progressive metal record than it is a death metal one in my opinion. The Voivod cover version that closes the album could have been a little more adventurous too because it's really just a straight reenactment & doesn't offer any point of difference which leaves it standing out a little bit from the rest of the tracklisting.

For fans of Atheist, "Dimension Hatross"-era Voivod & Death's more progressive releases.