Beyond - Enter Transcendence

Though Enter Transcendence is a measly seven minutes in rotational length, the two tracks here exemplify what Beyond did on their awesome first demo, "Relentless Abomination Vortex," and profit with some stronger recording and production standards to really release a truly punishing sampling of old school occult Death Metal influenced by a mix of bands such as Incantation and Grave. Beyond continues to do everything right, even on this 7" from the artwork to the dying moments of the music. Once again Beyond capitalize on excellent artwork, this time courtesy of Arnus Profanus, depicting the removal of a decomposing man's soul at the hands of a cabal of cloaked figures. The inside of the gate fold provides lyrics and a collage of live shots which, though invoke memories of older cut and paste collages isn't quite as nasty. There is a wonderful "thank you" list as well while the back is simple with the band's logo and the track-listing. Iron Bonehead have done a great job with their production of the release and the effort there is echoed in the music as well.

"Hidden Temple Of Obscurity" is immediate and urgent, an ascending chromatic riff launches the song off into chaotic syncopation. The guitars are the main focus on Enter Transcendence. They are mixed as loud as the vocals and this pushes the drums back further than would be ideal but you can still engage each instrument. Like on their demo, the bass is distinguishable and fills in the bottom end perfectly. Vocally, the performance is excellent even if the lyrical content is mundane. "Hidden Temple..." summons forth the images of a demonic ceremony while "Treacherous Revelation," engages in a less common subject for death metal - secret places in the desert which house "experiments on lifeforms from beyond this world." For me, "Treacherous Revelation" is the better song here. It's more driven and at times sounds warlike. After a good two full minutes of blasting, Beyond devolve into a riff that should have appeared on Left Hand Path or Into The Grave but never did.

What Beyond have done here is build on the strengths of the demo and improved where they needed to improve. The songwriting here is far better. Both songs are enjoyable and vicious. There are no awkward transitions in either of the songs and they flow nicely. The longer tracks on "Relentless Abomination..." dragged slightly but on Enter Transcendence there is no dragging unless it's dead bodies from classified government and military installations in the Nevada desert. For death metal fans, I don't see how this wouldn't be enjoyable. The only drawback here is the lack of another fifteen or twenty minutes of in your face madness. This is like sipping on fine wine at a tasting but leaving the vineyard without a bottle to enjoy later on. Let's hope these guys get a full length out soon.