To date BEYOND has released two demos, though under a different name: SHAPELESS. I gave SHAPELESS high praise for their magnificent second demo, “Repellent Ascent Of The Abhorrent". Now, with a new name, new logo, and I think a new line-up as well, BEYOND (once SHAPELESS, now come from Beyond! – sorry) incant phrases, vomit forth malicious sounds, and suffer no peaceful soul its existence on this, the new demo, “Relentless Abomination Vortex”. There are other words to describe it, but I find “Relentless” adequate to the task. After all, it’s part of the demo. Three tracks, ‘Pointless Prayers’, ‘Whirlwinds Of Chaotic Carnage’ and ‘Appearance From Beyond’, make up the tape. ‘Pointless Prayers’ starts with eerie chanting, then loudly and proudly the riffing starts, and a journey through a gateway to worlds beyond gets underway. Perhaps I exaggerate, but this demo communicates a special feeling right from the get-go. Emulating the obscure, haunting sounds such as the deepest, darkest underground dwellers may conjure is a goal shared by all true underground bands, but degrees of success vary widely, as we all know. At any rate, back to the demo: ‘Whirlwinds Of Chaotic Carnage’ has a more varied structure than ‘Pointless Prayers’; sometimes fast, sometimes not-as-fast, but dark, and richly evocative. After this brutal assault, and ‘Appearance From Beyond’ puts a fiery end to a chaotic ride. Another fast track, but with steadier, more even blasting, a few galloping segments, and towards the end, CELTIC FROST-style pounding and great alien-sounding solos – appropriate components for songs written by a band with a fierce spirit. All hail They who come from BEYOND! http://beyonddeathmetal.blogspot.com, www.detestrecords.com

How often do you stumble upon a German Death Metal band with potential to conquer the world of brutal and smashing ‘bangers? Not that often in my world at least, even though Germany ain’t that far away, and it should be a foreseeable task to keep an ear on what happens down there! Luckily, I now and then, write reviews for a German based webzine, that keeps a better ear on the German scene than me, and once in a while pushes a new German band and their music, my way for an opinion or three. BEYOND is one of those bands and here with their first demo they meet my ear with brutal chaos, after a classic intro with chanting monks – thrashy guitar riffs lift off on top of a steady beat, quickly picking up in pace and a brutal and reverb-infested growl sets in, while the speakers roars and slams all smaller things against the wall. Dark riffs paints the atmosphere dark and brutal, the three tracks on this demo tape are very relentless, no prisoners are taken. In midst of all the brutality BEYOND shows great songwriting skills, they are changing the pace very well and varies the songs quite well. There are well thought breaks, and when it becomes melodic, the melodies sweep into the songs elegantly, without the overall expression loses its brutality and ugliness, we are also served a couple of well delivered and played leads, that reminds me of old DEATH, in fact there are some very good guitar work on this release. And even though the production is dark, murky and a bit chaotic, the instruments stand out great and all parts can be heard most of the time, from the aggressive riffs to the dark and rumbling bass lurking right below the thick wall of guitars, the drums could have been a bit more energetic powerful, though their straight on and garage sound works quite well in this context. A production that fits the dark thematics of the band well. I’ve seen BEYOND hailed as one of the best new Death Metal bands around, though I’m not sure that I totally agree, yet – BEOYND does have a lot of the right things, though they still need a little to reach heights of grandeur. "Relentless Abomination Vortex" is a solid release with 3 great tracks on it, and is both time and money worth for fans of Death Metal. A relentless blend of thrashy and chaotic War Metal, melodic Scandinavian Black / Death Metal and early thrashy American Death Metal. I’m really looking forward to listen to what this beast in the future will develop into, they have a lot of all the right things and doesn’t need much to kick in the gates! Unleash hell at: http://beyonddeathmetal.blogspot.com and www.detestrecords.com