Beyond The Hate – Darkest Times
Beyond The Hate – Darkest Times
Inverse Records
Release Date: 03/08/2024
Running Time: 01:01:57
Review by Victor Augusto
9/10
Every time I try to explain my confusing lack of good sense to pick up new albums to review, I use new words to say the same thing I’ve explained thousands of times before. Today I will get straight to the point because the reason is the same as always. It’s just myself trying to hear different music that I’m not used to reviewing. When I chose the Finnish band Beyond the Hate, I immediately realised the problem, and it is not related to the quality of the album. Actually, it is quite the opposite because their music is so amazing and complex that I had no idea how I could explain it, without being that kind of reviewer that just put superficials words to show their opinions.
The first thing I did was message my friend Milena Carvalho (the encyclopedia of Doom Metal in the city where we live in Brazil) because I thought I had a pure Doom Metal band to review. I first sent her ‘Dark Is the Sky’ (my favourite song on the album) and she immediately loved the music, but she explained to me that the band’s style is more Melodic Death Metal than Doom. She also showed me similar bands, like Ghost Brigade or Dark Fortress, which are a bit more Melodic Black Metal than Beyond the Hate. It finally opened my mind to go deep into what they really play.
Their main style looks like having a perfect balance between Doom Metal, Melodic Death Metal and Black Metal. In many moments it’s even hard to define which path they are walking. Maybe this is exactly the magic of their music. The magic of showing the perfection of these three styles, but all together. There is a dark and slightly depressive atmosphere coming from the melodies, and from the Doom and Black Metal references. One example is the variations of Niko Kalinainen, with his guttural and clean vocals.
There is a great heaviness among the guitarists Kimmo Perälehto and Jyrki Karhu. These two bring the Death Metal side with a strong wall of guitars. It is amazing how the bassist Mikko Monto still can have highlights among it, and he really plays very interesting parts. Let’s not forget about the drummer Tommy Uhtio, who is also very responsible for that Death Metal style I’ve mentioned before, with strong and fast double basses.
There is a special detail that increases the melodic dense beauty atmospheric of the music, and it is the addition of keyboard parts, like you hear in the introduction of ‘Dead Ones’ or the smooth symphonic introduction of ‘Left Behind’. This last maybe is a great example of simple and catchy guitar melodies that make them sound like a Doom Metal band in a few moments. The melodies also seem like they’re passing a small sense of hope among all the darkness that the band is immersed in.
Definitely, “Darkest Times” is one of the best albums I’ve heard this year and it easily goes in my top 10 albums of the year! It offers the best of these worlds: A perfect blend of the Black and Doom Metal atmosphere, with incredibly well-played and aggressive Death Metal, and enchanting melodies! It is true that this album took me more than a month of continuous listening to review, but I can assure you that it is a very pleasant album to listen to entirely, even if it is more than an hour of running time!
‘Alone I Die’ Official Video
TRACKLISTING:
01. Sign Of Weakness
02. Alone I Die
03. The Lighthouse
04. Black Within (feat. Katri Hiovain-Asikainen)
05. The Plague Upon Us
06. Left Behind
07. Dark Is The Sky
08. Dead Ones
09. Stranger in Me
10. Times of Misery
11. The Last Moments
12. In Memoriam (feat. Jaakko Mäntymaa)
LINE-UP:
Niko Kalinainen – vocals
Kimmo Perälehto – guitars
Jyrki Karhu – guitars
Mikko Monto – bass
Tommy Uhtio – drums
LINKS:
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