Quest of the Lost Souls

Beneath the Remains is a band I found completely by accident as I was searching for various mixes of the Sepultura album of the same name. It took me by surprise, as this EP was my introduction into the world of hardcore. One of the first things that caught my attention on this record was the meticulous work on all fronts, I heavily appreciate bands who take time to tighten their rhythm section, especially when the groovy element is in play. The drums amazingly compliment the guitar work on every single song, in sections where the drums don't really "need" to be involved, the drummer hits various bells and hi hats; this element not only helps the guitarist keep the pace of the song steady, but it also gives the arpeggiated notes a menacing undertone (for example, the song "Quest of the Lost Souls" with its intro).

The vocal work might not be everyone's cup of tea as he is deliberately doing "growls" in a higher pitch than usual. The vocal style gives off this feeling as if the man singing is in pain. Which does go hand-in-hand with some of the more "negative" lyricism surrounding societal issues. I am a big fan of vocalists who follow the rhythm and use their voice as an instrument (such as John Tardy from Obituary). As I previously mentioned, the rhythmical work is stellar, and the fact that the vocals perfectly link up with the guitars and drums makes me believe that even if you dislike the vocal style of Cesar Bobadilla, you can still at least appreciate this factor. In the song "Wounds of Time", in the outro breakdown, we can hear Cesar doing low growls, showing that he is very versatile.

My favorite song is "Mutilation of Mind" without a doubt, the one-minute buildup this song has, is the best buildup I have ever heard in hardcore. You can feel every single element of the song from the drums to the vocals getting more frustrated, more vicious, more pissed off and bam! It explodes into a nasty breakdown! And the reason this song is generally one of my favorites of all time to me is solely because the song somehow manages to top that ruthless buildup, ruthless breakdown, and manages to get even crazier with the blast beats, only cooling off with the outro sequence. I mean come on man, how sick is that? Nowadays you have an entire genre of metal that builds their whole albums around the breakdown (cheap bands), yet, Beneath the Remains can pull of an excellent breakdown and buildup sequence like it's nothing. Truly inspiring work. I'm very picky with music, this gets a deserved 10/10.

Naming your band after one of the all time greatest metal albums means that your band needs to be good. Indeed, Beneath the Remains from New York were damn good. No-one talks about these guys anymore. Perhaps their moniker is a disadvantage in the internet age (since it doesn't lend itself to Search Engine Optimisation). The neglect surrounding this band is a tragedy. They were one of the best bands in their niche; the crossover of monstrous New York hardcore with death metal (perhaps you could call this stuff NYHCDM?). It sounds like a cross between Cro-Mags, Bulldoze and Obituary with a few thrash riffs. If that doesn’t pique your interest then, well, I cannot help you.

"Quest of the Lost Souls" feels like a spiritual successor to 1992-era NYHC/death metal hybrids like Confusion and early All Out War. It builds on what those bands were doing and (arguably) improves on them, taking things to another level of brooding intensity. This is atmospheric and passionate stuff, riddled with self-doubt, frustration and emotional catharsis (perhaps Starkweather was another influence). The most obvious example of this is the vocalist's impassioned soliloquy in the middle of "Break Free". This is confessional and empowering in a way that pure thrash and death metal never is, and hardcore seldom is. The juxtaposition between emotional desperation and streetwise toughness is the key to this band's sound.

The playing and the production are excellent. The bassist has a loud, aggressive tone and creates some nice melodies too. The drummer is a beast, bouncing and pounding throughout to give the songs the dynamism they need. The vocalist is brimming with on-the-edge anger that sounds like he is going to explode at any moment. The riffs are awesome and varied. Still, what makes this band great is their approach to songwriting. They balance super-heavy breakdowns and chugging with quieter and more introspective moments, and these songs all have multiple transitions which are executed to perfection. One example is the riff at the two minute mark of the title track, which propels the song to another level of intensity. The heaviness and aggression sounds natural throughout this record, never forced.

There is a progressive edge to this record that becomes clearer after a few listens. The band are careful about how they structure their songs, and the best example is the final track, "Last Breath" (which originally appeared on their demos). This is an incredible song, lifting itself out of the gloom like some kind of primeval swamp monster before exploding into semi-melodic riffing. There is a poetic, narrative driven anger throughout the whole thing, and it feels cathartic for the vocalist as well as for the listener. This song, above all the others, shows the band's ability to carry a multi-section five-minute song, a rarity in the hardcore scene.

All this band’s material is high quality and worth hearing, but this EP is their best known and most widely available release. It is perhaps their most ‘complete’ record in terms of how it sounds, and will almost certainly be the easiest to find (I still have my copy and I can’t imagine ever parting with it). Anyone who is remotely interested in NYHC or nasty old death metal should take a look at this one. It is one of the best that the genre has to offer.