by
Paul Hanson
http://www.painkiller-records.com
I admit the picture of the two guitarists on the back of this release in
leather and spikes made me leary of putting in this release. I had
visions of a terrible Judas Priest cock rock band trying to recapture
their youth. Disappointment is a blessing.
This is a five song blitz of 20:00 that has me still picking up my jaw.
This release starts out with "Death Macihne," an aggressive, fast,
Pantera-ish "Mouth for War"-ish tempo. Then at the 2:50 mark, the band
changes tempos and plays an interlude, a variation of the melody of the
fast section, before building back up to its frenzy by the 3:30 mark.
But it is in that 30+ seconds that From Beyond made their mark in my
mind. Typically, a lesser band would have played fast for the entire
song and not shown that they have a sense of musicianship. At the 4:46
mark, the band launches into a syncopated section, typical of thrash
bands, but it is immediately preceeded by some slick hi-hat work. "Death
Machine" is the right foundation to start building this release upon. It
is a strong opening track.
So after 6:37, you get to the rest of this CD, which are 3 tracks of
similar style to track one. The difference I hear in this band, that
makes them stand out, is that they sound like they have musical
training. They have a sense of phrasing their riffs so that it sounds
pleasing to the ear. They are able to expand the thrash genre, not just
paying homage to bands like Exodus or Testament here. There are
individual characteristics of this band that make them stand out. The
drummer doesn't rely on a rumbling of double-bass to establish his
sound. The guitarists work together and sound like they actually
composed their parts instead of flying-by-the-seat-of-their-pants. The
vocalist, while not really 'singing' all the time, is not annoying. And
that's enough for me. The last track is a short 1:31 acoustic track,
called "Epilogue." I have a problem with thrash and rock bands including
short acoustic tracks at the end of their releases because they seem
tacked on and presented as evidence that the guitarist has some skill.
Some bands, like Disarray's "Life is Gone" are successful because they
carry forward the theme of their CD into a different 'voice' (the
acoustic guitar). I've heard a lot of these short metal band promos. I
have to say that this From Beyond release stands out with my other
favorite short metal band promos like Grain and the Gooseflesh EP.
© 2003, BBHrdRpt
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