BEYOND CREATION

Progressive/ Technical Death Metal a la Canada. *French* Canadians, in fact lol. These crazy motherf*ckers will thankfully crop up just about anywhere on the planet. We shouldn't ever take it for granted. At times throughout, absolutely fantastic. Some great balance and some notable compositional excellence (diverse and dynamic); see my must-hear tracks below.

I have to mention the vocals. Backing provided by guitarist Kevin Chartré are a sharp, piercing, and fittingly ugly post-Thrash, Schuldiner-esque growl, wonderfully complimenting the guttural dirges of lead vocalist (and guitarist) Simon Girard. All of the performers are talented, no doubt, but good God! I would say immediately personally noted, the bass (then Dominic "Forest" Lapointe) is incredible! Hard for me not to make comparison to the late great Sean Malone (Cynic, Gordian Knot). Nothing is made in a vacuum and, also still, this is a great compliment, of course.

No track on this album, I feel, slips into the hokey or overly (obnoxious) aggressive tendencies of many in modern Prog Metal. Even today, it's really very refreshing to my ears. I always want to know to whom guys of their ilk look (those most technical and even jazz-inclined within Metal). Who are their references for fusiony passages like track 6, "Abstrait Dialog"? I hate to assume (as much as I adore him and his work) that it's all Holdsworth; I'm sure I'm just being cynical and weird about it. But I am simply curious. Unexpectedly, these moments feel they could be interludinal material you might find on a Contortionist album.

To reiterate, not a bad song on this album, but I'm more than happy to give out the necessities.

Absolute must-hears: (2) "Sous La Lueur De L'empereur", (3) "Earthborn Evolution", (9) "Theatrical Delirium"

 Other highlights: (1) "Elusive Reverence," (6) "Abstrait Dialog," (7) "The Axiom"

This is the third album from Canadian technical death metal act Beyond Creation, but it isn't hard to also why they are listed on PA as yet again we have a band pushing musical boundaries. While the band for the most part is similar in many ways to the likes of Nile, with complex intertwined blistering guitar passages combined with over the top drum fills, and vocals which are guttural and raw, what really makes this stand out for me is the bass. I guess that Hugo Doyon-Karout knows he is playing in an extreme metal act, but someone seems to have forgotten to have told him what his role is supposed to be, as not only is he playing a fretless bass, but he is all over the place. Sometimes he joins in with the guitars on the complex interchanges, leaving drummer Philippe Boucher to keep it all together by himself, while at others he has the temerity to play lead solos over the top of Simon Girard and K'vin Chartr'. Doesn't he know that the role of a bassist is to provide the platform for others, not be at the forefront of what is going on?

Needless to say, the result makes for an incredibly fascinating and interesting album, as one is never sure what is going to happen next, and the warmth of the fretless bass provides direct contrast to the often-staccato guitars. Due to his role in the band, the bass is also mixed higher than one would normally expect, so the gap is between the drums and everything else, as opposed to drums and bass being kept together. This gives the sound a lightness as the bass is often providing counterpoint as opposed to locking down the sound, this means that when he starts playing in a more normal manner the dynamic contrast is higher than would otherwise be the case. But, notes are still often being slid into as opposed to being punched in the manner one would expect from the fretted instrument. Although it may seem I am saying this is all about Hugo, nothing could be further from the truth as this feels like an incredibly complex structured album where everyone knows their part, it is just a different structure to the norm. Well worthy of investigation.

"Earthborn Evolution" is the 2nd full-length studio album by Canadian death metal act Beyond Creation. The album was released through Season of Mist in October 2014. Beyond Creation was formed in 2005 and released the generally well received debut full-length studio album "The Aura" in 2011. Bassist Dominic "Forest" Lapointe is also a member of fellow countrymen Augury, B.A.R.F. and Atheretic.

The music on "Earthborn Evolution" pretty much continues the technical/progressive death metal style, which was initiated on "The Aura (2011)". Artists like Augury, Fallujah, and to some extent Obscura are all valid references. What sets Beyond Creation apart from other similar acts is the dominant bass playing by Dominic "Forest" Lapointe, and while the rest of the music is also incredibly well played, it's his playing that's the real highlight on "Earthborn Evolution". It's nothing short of amazing. The rest of the music is fairly standard technical/progressive death metal with tons of tempo- and time signature changes, ultra fast fretboard runs, semi-jazzy guitar solos, and a suiting level of brutality. It's all delivered by true professionals, but the vocals sound a bit soulless to my ears. They are pretty monotone growling, and not even the occasional higher pitched screaming vocal part can save that part of the music from being a bit one-dimensional. Lead vocalist/guitarist Simon Girard gets the job done, but not more than that, and sometimes I get the feeling that the vocals are an afterthought instead of an integrated and important part of the music. That feeling is further enhanced by the fact that there are so much going on at any given time during the albums playing time, that this could easily have been released as an instrumental album.

The material are generally very complex, both in structure and in execution, but that of course won't prove a challenge to fans of this particular death metal style. Not many tracks stand out, as the band focus more on technical playing than they do on hooks, but I'd mention "Sous La Lueur De L'Empereur" as one of the highlights. It's got some memorable themes, and I think the album could have prospered from more tracks like that, featuring more memorable hooks.

When that is said "Earthborn Evolution" is still a high quality release in the genre, featuring high level musicianship, a professional take on composition, and a powerful and clear sounding production, which suits the music perfectly. A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.

Brutality, subtlety, technical expertise and melody never combined as beautifully as this! Such a stunning achievement from this Canadian band of wizards. Being myself a Bass player I must acknowledge Dominic Lapointe's astonishing fretless work. A sublime performance from all but Dominic's performance is beyond belief. Having said that, the drumming is Mammoth throughout and the guitar work will send shivers down your spine with it's virtuosic acrobatics and stunning sense of melody. The vocals are wonderfully harsh and malignant and the two tones, one cavernous and the other shrieking, combine very effectively. But the most surprising and rewarding facet of this album is that despite all the shredding and virtuosic display, the songs flow effortlessly with enormous aesthetic elegance and sumptuousness. The songwriting is truly top notch and the songs are really cohesive and coherent..they are even majestic and beautiful at times. It's almost impossible to hear the flutter of a butterfly's wings in a storm..but Beyond Creation managed this miracle of sound.

"The Aura" is the debut full-length studio album by Canadian, Montreal, Quebec based death metal act Beyond Creation. The album was released through PRC Music in April 2011. Beyond Creation features among others, Augury bassist Dominic "Forest" Lapointe.

...bearing that in mind it´s no surprise that the music on "The Aura" is technical (slightly progressive) death metal in the vein of Augury, Obscura and Vale of Pnath (another newcommer to the scene). The musicianship are outstanding, the sound production is clear and powerful, and the songwriting adventurous and challenging. While all members of the lineup deliver incredibly tight instrumental performances I have to give a special mention to Dominic "Forest" Lapointe. His fretless basswork is simply amazing and fortunately the bass has been given a perfect spot in the mix where it is audible at all times. The vocals are fairly standard for the genre, alternating between deep growling vocals are and a higher pitched snarl. They are alright but if you ask me the music could have prospered from a more unique sounding vocal style.

The 10 tracks on the 52:40 minutes long album vary from shorter instrumental tracks, to "regular" length tracks, to a mastodon like the 11:09 minutes long closing track "The Deported". No matter the format, Beyond Creation write strong and entertaining material that´ll keep you on your toes but also make your head bang.

Upon conclusion "The Aura" is one of the strongest technical death metal albums released in 2011 along with "The Prodigal Empire (2011)" by Vale of Pnath. There´s that something "extra" about the album that makes it stand out even though it´s not necessarily the most original sounding technical/progressive death metal album out there. A 4 - 4.5 star (85%) rating is fully deserved.