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The phrase “back to basics” usually means dialing things back, keeping things simple, and focusing on the tried and trusted rather than trying something new. It will usually appear when, for example, a sports team has tried a new formation that doesn’t quite come off, or, a band or artist tries a new sound and again, doesn’t quite come off. On 2020’s ‘Hørizøns’, their fourth studio album, German metallers Beyond The Black stuck their necks out and opted to pull back some of the traditional symphonic metal elements of their sound in favour of a more glossy, pop-rock/metal sound, and the BTB faithful (aka Ravens) was split. The majority were in favour of ‘Hørizøns’ – a hugely enjoyable album that entered the German album charts at #3, marking the band’s most successful album release to date – but there was a percentage that felt that it “wasn’t metal”, or was “too light”, and took to that bastion of common sense, social media, to voice their concerns. Fast forward a few years and the band are set to deliver studio album number five, and have gone “back to basics”.
With ‘Beyond The Black’ being the first output on new label Nuclear Blast Records (recently changing from Napalm Records), it marks the beginning of a new chapter for the band, hence self-titling the album makes perfect sense. Released in June 2022, ‘Reincarnation’ was the first single to be released in the Nuclear Blast era and Beyond The Black vocalist and founding member Jennifer Haben stated; “Reincarnation is about becoming your true self and starts a new, epic chapter. This is Beyond The Black! And Beyond The Black is back!”. Hell yeah, not only is Beyond The Black back, but they might just have produced the best album of their career to date.
One of the first noticeable things about the album is that it is much leaner than previous albums. At only ten tracks in length (as compared to thirteen on both ‘Hørizøns’ and album number three ‘Heart Of The Hurricane’) there is less filler material and the end result is trimmed of all the fat. It’s also heavier. Much heavier. Lead guitarist Chris Hermsdörfer (who also handles guttural vocal duties) is very much front and centre again, and while ‘Hørizøns’ was not exactly lacking in the guitar department, here the big fella is very much in your face from the very moment that the buzzsaw riffs of ‘Is There Anybody Out There?’ open the album. One of the most euphoric tracks that Beyond The Black has created, this is how you announce the beginning of a new chapter; and extra bonus points for the subtle Spanish guitar flourishes dotted throughout the four minutes that meld together perfectly with Hermsdörfer’s rocket-sized riffs.
Haben is sensational. One of the cleanest, purest voices in music today regardless of genre, and here she sounds totally reinvigorated. ‘Reincarnation’ quickly follows the opening track with a slight acoustic Celtic-folk touch to Hermsdörfer’s guitar sound – his growls also hit the mark every time – and the vocal hooks throughout are simply massive. Resistance is futile, for this is a total banger. Ditto ‘Free Me’ which is a gorgeous mixture of light acoustic guitar, crushing riffs, pounding drums, and vocals to bellow out from the edge of a clifftop with the wind blowing your hair back while Hermsdörfer is next to you peeling off a solo in true Slash ‘November Rain’ style. And then the galloping, full-throttle ‘Winter Is Coming’ follows on with a killer drum sound from Kai Tschierschky.
Four opening tracks, of which three have been released as singles. And that would be the only grumbling point about the album; the pacing is slightly off. Push ‘Winter Is Coming’ up a few tracks and the front end is not as loaded up with heavy hitters. It’s not that the second half of the album suffers in quality, far from it – ‘Wide Awake’ is a beautiful power ballad; ‘Dancing In The Dark’ (the fourth single from the album) is so infectious that it should come with a warning that repeated listening will result in the listener breaking out the air-drums; ‘Raise Your Head’ is packed with James Bond-theme arrangements and a towering vocal performance from Haben; and haunting closing track ‘I Remember Dying’ is utterly majestical with its sweeping cinematic arrangements and an alluring vocal performance from Jennifer Haben full of wonder and mystery. A sensational way to end the album.
Judging by how many of the new tracks Beyond The Black performed on last year’s co-headline tour with Amaranthe, the quartet (completed by Tobi Lodes on rhythm guitar) knows that they are onto a winner with album number four, and as Jennifer proclaimed…“This is Beyond The Black! And Beyond The Black is back!”
Available January 13th via Nuclear Blast Records, pre-order here: https://beyondtheblack.bfan.link/beyond-the-black
Watch the video for ‘Dancing In The Dark’ here: https://youtu.be/NGDlZTvJplo
Watch the video for ‘Winter Is Coming’ here: https://youtu.be/QKW7_jOjTQ8
Watch the video for ‘Is There Anybody Out There?’ here: https://youtu.be/_PjhX07dsIg
Review – Dave
Live images – credit Ritchie Birnie
