I wondered what the best way of reviewing Beyond was going to be: listen to it a couple of times to get over
the excitement then write the review, but would that lead to a muted, less
excited and more dull interview? Or just do what I normally do: listen, take
notes, then write the entry out and play the album again. I originally opted
for the first, but as soon as ‘Luoto’ began playing, I had to write in order to
honour this incredible piece of work.
It’s not very often a band does an intro track that’s anything more
than a minute long. It’s also even rarer that a band writes an intro track so
good that it’s worthy of being a standalone song; this is one of those rare
occasions. As soon as the gentle acoustic notes from the beginning of the song
begin to trickle through your speakers, your soul is gripped. As usual, Omnium
Gatherum deliver their carefully thought out, emotionally ambiguous riffs and
melodies, constructing a happy-sad atmosphere and heightening all feelings,
setting you up for what follows. And, oh boy, just you wait. I’m now faced with
a dilemma, I’m not totally sure I can put words together to do this album
justice.
Then ‘New Dynamic’ kicks in, the fast, tapped melody provided on the
guitar, followed by a big, bouncy, very effective riff, then back to a
brilliant melody. Everything here is in balance: the crunchy guitar riffs, the big
and beautifully simple melodies. Everything weaves into and out of everything
else so well, and this then moves to apply to the rest of the album.
The band has cracked it. They have worked out how to get a perfect
balance between clean sections with gentle acoustic passages and massive, heavy
verses and choruses. Everything fits perfectly into place, and this is so
evident to see on ‘White Palace’ and ‘Who Could Say’. The way the songs so
perfectly progress from one section to another is so brilliantly done that you
almost don’t notice. Everything the band does just fits together so well. The
band can be seen, especially on ‘Luoto’, drawing on early ideas from albums
such as Spirits and August Light with
dramatic, slow acoustic sections that fit so well with slow, mournful chords.
But of course, then the new, energetic Omnium Gatherum pick up the energy and
pace with their leads and melodies.
Melodies. Another thing Omnium Gatherum have also cracked. Again, it’s
all in brilliant balance: simplicity, power, energy, melancholy. Powerful,
flashy, yet unbelievable simple melodies re3place acoustic parts on ‘Luoto’,
creating the energy that is carried into the rest of the album, via incredible
guitar and keys work on tracks like ‘The Sonic Sign’ and ‘Living In Me’,
creating some incredible tracks that really, really stand out, such as ‘Who
Could Say’, which is probably the closest thing to melodic death metal perfection
the band have ever created. It’s about as memorable and catchy as a death metal
song could get. Though relatively slow for a death song, everything is just so
well done and out together: dramatic cleans, including Jukka Pelkonen’s glorious deep vocal tones, which
is so well complimented, not just on this one song but the whole album, by interweaving
acoustic melodies, followed by huge heavy verses and massive riffs.
And for all the
guitar-heads out there, Markus Vanhala really does perform quite incredibly on
this album. A lot of brilliant guitarists either lack a little musical ear with
their solos, writing incredibly fast and technical leads that don’t always fit
the song, or brilliant solos that work perfectly with the song but feel a
little flat from lack of ability. Vanhala is neither of these, matching
astonishing lead techniques with an amazing musical ear, building amazingly
memorable solos that are not only technical and complicated, but fit perfectly
with the song and possess great musical qualities; each one could be seen as a
melody in its own right.
Even the introduction track is a masterwork. Everything on this album
is brilliant, even songs such as ‘The Unknowing’ which felt a little weakened
as a single, are given new light and power in the incredible context that is
this amazing album. So much thought and careful processing, planning and unbelievably
talented musicianship has gone into this album, it casts a shadow over
everything else Omnium Gatherum have ever written, and, after the might of New World Shadows, I didn’t think that’d
be possible, but they’ve done it, nonetheless. I’m sad that what will probably
be the album of the year has been released so early on, now there’s nothing to
look forward to, but on the bright side, releasing this early gives me plenty
of time to enjoy it.
Oh look, the Omnium Gatherum happy-sad emotional ambiguity has
returned.
Overall – 9.8/10
Best Song: Who Could Say 10/10
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