Infortunium
Darktower Records/Friendly Fire Distro
Ontario, Canada’s Besegra formed in 2009 and resolved to cross over thrash, death, prog and classical metal to create their signature style. The brutal overtones, energy and dexterity in the guitars serve to establish their sound as developing nicely, almost immediately from the first track “Master Of Attrition.” If you didn’t consider it possible to incorporate elements of Testament, Deicide, Iron Maiden and Fates Warning you should check this band out. Guitarists Zach Rouse and Trevor Gehl incorporate these elements and many more with a razor sharp precision that sounds seasoned and ultra-professional, and is effortlessly matched by the rest of the band (vocalist Max Warwick, bassist Cory Hauley and drummer Brennan Farrar). Just six tracks grace Infortunium but once it has run its course you feel you’ve been bludgeoned by a complete album. Besegra’s fusion of so many subgenres of metal sounds like a grand step forward for the concept of no rules and no boundaries of what bands can achieve musically. And of course there is a relentless and potent old school flavor within their compositions, as a solid foundation of their roots. It’s the sort of album I could have wholeheartedly gotten into during any era of underground metal, with more than enough diversity and sophistication to sustain the interest of metal fans everywhere, regardless of their favorite genre. -Dave Wolff