We're getting into the crème de la crème now, and at number 24 sits my favorite pure death metal band on this list. We'll be coming to a few other bands in the coming posts who I've seen described as death metal, and who certainly exhibit some of the characteristics of the genre, but I can't think of anybody who would disagree with the assertion that Québec's brilliant technical death metal band Martyr fits firmly within its bounds (if any musical style truly has such things). The extreme metal movement in that part of Canada is legendary, having produced, in addition to these guys, amazing technical death metal bands Cryptopsy and Gorguts (who would probably be on this list now if I had it to do over again) as well as legendary progressive thrashers Voivod. Oddly enough, Martyr's mastermind and virtuoso guitarist Dan Mongrain has played in all three of those other bands.
I remember first hearing Martyr sometime around 2000, thanks (I think) to mp3.com, which was a gem back then for seekers of new music and bands eager to get their work heard. Their album Warp Zone had just been released, and one or two of the tracks were available for download. I can't remember what lead to me to giving them in particular a listen - probably that great online compendium, The BNR Metal Pages - but I know that I was blown away by what I heard. The band's melodic approach is really unusual, especially for that time: angular and atonal, with frequent wide melodic intervals. Rhythmically, like a lot of the genre, they're frenetic, complex and relentlessly aggressive. Every one of the players is a master of his craft, especially Dan, who, when you hear him, makes perfectly obvious why he's been so in-demand as a guitarist. As has become the custom, I'm including two clips here: a studio recording of the opener from their last (and best) album, 2006's Feeding the Abscess, and a live video from 2008 of a song from the same album called "Nameless, Faceless, Neverborn". Both take some wildly unexpected turns; I hope you enjoy them.
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