Well this is a first for me, getting to review an album that featured in my Ave Noctum Top 20…the year AFTER it appeared in it! Truth is, a mate of mine put me on to this band (Thanks again to Neil, a man with the investigative powers of a Hard Rock Bloodhound…but luckily for him and his wife, doesn’t look like one…) and also told me where to get hold of the album on import so I didn’t realize that it hadn’t had a Worldwide release. The obvious reason being that it’s a travesty that an album of this quality HADN’T! Anyway, those clever people at UDR have remedied the situation and repackaged it with four tasty bonus tracks to make it even more appealing. All this however does make it a teensy bit trickier to review because as well as opening up the band to further potential fans, I’m also preaching to the converted…which opens ME up to a whole raft of comments like “No it isn’t! I’ve already heard it and it sounds nothing like…” (…mainly from my own girlfriend who also loves the album). So I’ll keep the original release re-cap to a minimum, whilst also taking into account the views of those aforementioned devotees of the album…just to be on the safe side…
Beyond the Black are an ultra-classy German Symphonic Metal band and “Lost In Forever” is their hugely impressive second album. I suppose the biggest surprise that has happened since this album got it’s initial native release, is that everyone except vocalist Jennifer Haben seems to have left the band! I guess this underlines whose band it actually is and also why Beyond The Black have a more melody/vocal driven approach to songwriting. Jennifer has a fabulously professional and versatile voice which can rock out with a touch of gravel when needed, yet bend itself perfectly to the more subtle moments without breaking stride. The music leans towards the more melodic and catchy area of Symphonic Metal with plenty to please a range fans who like Delain, Nemesea, Elis, Within Temptation, Arven, Lunatica and Visions Of Atlantis. The songs strive to steer away from generic layouts, remaining unpredictable whilst concentrating on each one being memorable and maintaining a flow from start to finish. There’s no saccharin-soaked Disney-style ballads, but plenty of light and shade as the songs vary in tempo and attitude. Masterplan’s Rick Altzi even puts in a guest appearance on the excellent ‘Beautiful Lies’. Oh, and the whole album is rather damn good.
Hopefully that sums the original release up, so let’s concentrate on to the four new bonus songs included in this fabulous ‘Tour Edition’. All four could slot perfectly into the album at any point and are by no means your throwaway type of bonus tracks. Four newly recorded songs, the first of which ‘The Other Side’, has an atmospheric intro that then ups the Symphonic side, only to be balanced out with a quirky bass-driven free-form verse. The huge bombastic chorus is obviously the track’s crowning glory. ‘Dim The Spotlight’ brings to mind Delain’s mid-paced heartfelt melodic metal, with it’s key changes and effortless vocals, but given a Beyond The Black makeover. Arrangement-wise, ‘Our Little Time’ reminds me of Krypteria at their best, but with Jennifer Haben’s silky-smooth vocals bringing it home. But they save the best ’til last. Already a live favourite, the anthemic and wonderfully German Power Metal flavoured ‘Rage Before The Storm’ has everything from Helloween to Doro in it’s make up. Ably assisted by the fabulous vocals of Sinbreed’s Herbie Langhans, it’s a crowd-pleaser from start to finish and is the perfect way to finish an excellent album. And there you have it, a deserved worldwide release for a great album by a band with an exciting new line-up (that now includes Serenity’s Christian Hermsdörfer among others). The future looks bright indeed for Beyond The Black.
(9/10 – Andy Barker …and Katharine…and Neil…)
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