ALBUM REVIEW: Wild Beyond – Wild Beyond

A new entity of Blackened Thrash Metal excellence emerges… WILD BEYOND, unleashed their debut album recently via Gates Of Hell Records.

Violent riffing and built drums kick into a wild storm of hellish blasphemy. The crazed playing and unusual rhythms deliver ferocious blows like a maelstrom of wickedness. With these dissonant flares and soaring cosmic leads in toe, there is more to Wild Beyond than run of the mill Black-Thrash, while keeping that savage spirit at the heart of things. Malicious, yet varied, we go from blistering infernos to these punchy grooves with excellent bass lines breaking through the mix. The drumming is busy and suitably frenzied while the vocals retain a totally nasty delivery throughout. The opening of this bands debut shows their convictions and should convince all that their presence in the underground is worthy.

The production of this record feels very sparse, with huge amounts of headroom for all of the unusual and fascinating angles that the band seem to pull from nothingness. Much of their appeal is the unique and unpredictable twists each track seems to have in abundance. Thankfully these nuanced and crushing pieces are not compressed into a singularity, but given a careful mixing treatment that truly allows them to prosper as the excellent ideas that they are. Taking sublime melodies and contorting them into deformed convulsions of sonic disdain, there are some utterly crazy moments on this album. There is similarities to all sorts of artists, from Voivod to Khthoniik Cerviiks to Aura Noir and many more. This diversity goes into a realm of the cosmos that feels quite refreshing and untraversed, giving Wild Beyond a feeling that is not overly familiar yet indulges all of the desires a Black-Thrash maniac would seek.

Although staying true to many of the essential hallmarks of their chosen style, Wild Beyond is definitely not a typical listen. This is one of those records with some very atypical shifts that even after a few listens, you don’t always expect to come in. A lot of their dissonance is played with a real sharpness that feels genuinely hostile, but then can join these hugely anthemic moments which bring out headbanging rage with equal ease. Everything feels very purposeful though, leads are used sparingly but always bring something to the table and similarly when they break the songs down to a more primitive form to rebuild tensions, it feels strategic. The songwriting and execution definitely cannot be accused of laziness, because the intricacies in such a ruthless record are displayed in a profoundly disturbing and psychotic manner. A truly discomforting, feral and often nightmarish vision in sonic form, majestic and yet punishing.

A veritably unique and yet unforgiving iteration of Black-Thrash Metal malevolence. Embark on this journey into further reaches of lunacy and ecstasy while the cosmic radiance scorches your physical form. Wild Beyond take a very tenacious subgenre into bold new territories to superb effect.