Sunday 21 April 2013

Beyond Creation - The Aura (Album Review)

 
Album Type : Full Length
Date Released : 12/4/2013
Label : Season of Mist
 
The Aura, album tracklising:
01. No Request for the Corrupted 04:56
02. Coexistence 07:37
03. Chromatic Horizon 01:54
04. Omnipresent 06:12
05. Injustice Revealed 03:55
06. Le Detenteur 02:35
07. The Aura 07:07
08. Social Disability 05:30
09. Elevation Path 01:45
10. The Deported 11:09
11. Injustice Revealed (Bonus Track)
 
Bio:
The French part of Canada has a deserved reputation for calorie rich cuisine, pride, and a certain peculiarity. Yet Quebec is also home to a vibrant culture of technical Death Metal fostered by outstanding acts such as GORGUTS, CRYPTOPSY, MARTYR, and NEURAXIS. This illustrious family tree has produced many sprouts in the past, yet none of them as brilliant as Quebec's new amazing scion: BEYOND CREATION! Founded in the Olympic city of Montreal in the year 2005, the band worked hard to gain technical expertise before putting out their only demo in 2010. This created an immediate buzz within and beyond technical Death Metal circles and was followed up by a self-release of "The Aura" (2011). With this release BEYOND CREATION deliver a ferocious blend of technicality, melody, and brutality. Dualistic in nature, beautiful progressive interludes give way to sheer anger and aggression. With this stunning debut, the Canadians managed to capture the attention of Season of Mist. With progressive Death Metal champions and genre founding fathers such as ATHEIST and CYNIC already on its roster, the label was excited to add this new gem to its crown. "The Aura" is now scheduled for an international relaunch with an added bonus track. BEYOND CREATION leave an impressive mark with their debut – and this is just the beginning

Line up:
Dominic "Forest" Lapointe - Bass
Guyot Begin-Benoit - Drums
Kévin Chartré - Guitars
Simon Girard - Vocals, Guitar
 
Review:
I don't know what is happening here people, and I apologise. I seem to be death metal guy at the minute. But they keep forcing it upon me and it's all really good stuff! There is a definite run of some great death albums cropping up at the blog and the boys' assault on my senses continues in earnest. Latest effort on their part: 'The Aura', a fresh reissue for international climbs by Montreal's premier tech-death purveyors, Beyond Creation. Kudos to Season of Mist for putting this out and expanding the audience of what is essentially a very gifted band. Like, REALLY gifted.
The album starts with a bang when 'No Request for the Corrupted' tears into existence. From the offset it's quite clear that BC are exceptionally talented at playing their respective instruments. The technical mastery on display here is dazzling, and by no means in a drawn out wank-fest, stroking the ego kind of way. The music is brutal and crushing, yet retains an air of elegance. It's almost classical in its construction. Maybe they'll teach these songs to gifted kids at death metal academies in the future. At its core though it's still very much DM, and it would be no good if it didn't shred.
This opening track is all buzzaw lightning guitar riffs and gonzo double bass drumming, with some out of this world bass. Bassist Dominic 'Forest' Lapointe is a prodigy throughout the album, his playing unorthodox and highly skilled. It's truly a revelation - they all are, really.
One of the shortest offerings up for consumption is 'Chromatic Horizon', a more immediate affair that is purely instrumental. The leads are so strong here, even in such a short space of time. Of course it helps when you can physically play almost twice as many notes in 2 minutes than a lot of death bands out there can these days (and that's saying something).
'Injustice Revealed' sees more stellar bass from the man known as 'Forest' summon it into being, before becoming another tour de force of instrumentation by all concerned. One of the most progressive songs on the disc, the guitars are at their most searching here with plenty of highs and lows. It still kills in a major way though.
'Social Disability' rolls along at the mid pace, in that effortless way that death metal can. Which is crazy given how fast the drumming is, and yet that is what lends it that particular effect the most. The vocals are growled enough to be ominous and yet clear enough to be decipherable. 'The Aura' is a very musical record throughout, and doesn't just rely on pure aggression to make itself heard. There is a softer touch involved that only adds wholeheartedly to the affair.
Whether Beyond Creation are showing off their lighter side or unleashing the audio hounds completely, they are 100% committed to quality composition. These are 4 people who take their craft incredibly seriously, be that kicking ass or exploring uncharted realms of consciousness. As an album, 'The Aura' is a voyage of light and dark. As a debut it is truly impressive, and a great platform to launch the group onto big things. Invest some time in it ASAP.
Words by: Matt Fitton
As always show your support to the band. You can buy the record here and download at the usual places. Thanks to Gunnar at SOM for the hook up.