Martyr is a death metal band from Trois-Rivières (Québec), my home town. This band has been around for almost 7 or 8 years, but 'Hopeless Hopes' is their first album (they released some unknown demos). Martyr plays very technical death metal in the vein of the almighty Death, and influences from this band can easily be heard on their debut album but some riffs reminds me some old metal too...

The musicianship is really good and all the songs are complex, and well structured, with some really good solos. The bass parts are particularly impressive on this CD, they add a sort of strange but melodic touch to the compositions. However, the music on this album could be more aggressive & faster... The vocals are not the usual DM growl 'à la Chris Barnes', and even if they are often very deep they sometimes sound like those of Death

All the songs are good, especially 'Ostrogoth' (my favourite), 'Ars Nova' and 'Nypskÿ. This last song is strange and original and at some moment all the members start to scream like a bunch of damned banshees. The production is pretty good for an independent album (recorded at my local college I think). 'Hopeless Hopes' is a decent DM album if you like Death-influenced metal. They will release a new CD next autumn (I've heard some of their new songs, they are in the same vein, but more brutal), I think it will be better.

Ostrogoth
I am an Ostrogoth
Ostrogoth
I kill like an Ostrogoth

Red Blood has become Venom
Which gives a Devastation Desire
Alone in this War
You'll enter in Lucifer's Kingdom

Ostrogoth
Damned Soldiers from the catacombs of Hell
Ostrogoth
Feel inside the Pain I give
Ostrogoth
Seeking Human flesh to kill
Ostrogoth

-Excerpt from Ostrogoth's lyrics
(The Ostrogoths were a Germanic barbarian tribe, they fought the Romans and founded a kingdom in the Northern part of Italy)

Martyr's Official Page

© 1999 cythrawl