Review Summary: Boasting exceptional technical musicianship and hard hitting screams, Breaking the Fourth Wall is a gem that shouldn't be overlooked by lovers of hardcore/metalcore music.
Unfortunately, Beecher exists as yet another undiscovered talent that boats undeniable charisma and uses their influences with grace. The more the listener delves into Beecher’s
Breaking the Fourth Wall, the more the Converge influence will begin to show. Even though this band’s music may not prove to be entirely original, they have a way of using their Converge esque sound to their advantage by means of jaw dropping intensity, hard hitting screams, exceptional musicianship and an overall talent that proves to be quite close to their essential counterpart. Blending hardcore, metalcore, post metal and progressive metal,
Breaking the Fourth Wall exists as a must listen for lovers of this kind of music as it deserves plenty of undivided attention.
The beginning tracks, “Let Them Drown” and “Dead for Weeks,” reveal the technical goodness of Beecher and both of their intensities give this section of the record the worthy title of a one-two punch. The screams are charismatic, the guitar and bass riffs shred endlessly and the time signatures are hard to keep up with. Without a doubt the band’s overall charisma shines through in these songs alone and their talent never stops throughout most of the record. These exceptional positives continue well until the second half of the record. However, “Burning Surface” takes things down a notch with providing a quick moment for the listener and the record as well to breath with it slowing churning, atmospheric intro with the addition of adding cleans into the mix too. However, the post metal esque build up breaks into the intensity that the listener as come to know from the start. The song exists as a notably slower one on the record and definitely could be called a highlight for this unknown gem.
Other highlights include “The Only One I Know” and “Ladder Theory” with both of them being quite different compared side to side. The former kicks off with an explosive intro filled with exemplary blast beats, memorable guitar riffs and fantastic vocals throughout. The slower sections of the track also give the record a taste of slower more emotionally driven section not often seen on
Breaking the Fourth Wall which is a nice change of pace. The latter, which also happens to be the album’s epic closing track, once again takes things down a notch with a beautiful and epic build up to the more typical style of the record. In this build up, the guitar riffs prove to actually be quite beautiful and the bass work also exists as an awesome trait. The beauty quickly ends though when the song explodes into a fiery pit of complex time signatures and some of the record’s best vocals.
Aside from all of the positives exhibited here, the first half of the record demands some more variety because “Arrow Flies” and “Mercury Switch” don’t accomplish anything drastically different compared to their far superior previous three songs despite them both being well done songs when listened to alone. In addition to this, “Floating Point” exists as a somewhat annoying interlude with a first half that showcases cool drumming, but it sinks into a wall of sounds that could easily be straight out of an old video game. It’s safe to say that this track could have easily been excluded from the record altogether and “Mercury Switch” would flow into “The Only One I Know” quite well.
All gripes aside,
Breaking the Fourth Wall is a testament of how fantastic and talented undiscovered bands could actually be. Their technical musicianship happens to be quite impressive and they use their undeniable Converge influence to their advantage while at the same time not completely ripping them off and making an album of their very own. Big fans of Converge or quite frankly, anyone who has a passion for harsher music as a whole will without a doubt fall in love with Beecher’s
Breaking the Fourth Wall.
Album rules HARD, thanks JokineAugustus for bringing this one up x1000.
