Beyond Twilight - Section X


Year of Release: 2005
Label: Massacre Records
Catalog Number: MAS PC0452
Format: CD
Total Time: 44:48:00

The history of the Scandinavian metal band Beyond Twilight goes back to the early 90s, when Finn Zierler recorded some great stuff with the band Twilight. But from 1999 onwards, Zierler closed that chapter and opened up a new one with Beyond Twilight, and the debut album they released in 2001 gets excellent reviews everywhere. And then it was silent ? until 2005, when the follow up is released: Section X.

Zierler spent a certain amount of time in three totally different and strange places to write the album: Locked alone in an attic, submerged under water in a cold lake and living on the dark streets of London. But whatever he did, the result is very good. The dark artwork by Mattias Nor?n sets the mood for the music: dark and gloomy.

After the strange intro, "Be Careful It's My Head Too," a bit similar to certain parts Ayreon has done, the guitars kick in, accompanied by a pounding rhythm section and a haunting chorus that you can't get out of your head for weeks! The new singer, Kelly Sundown Carpenter (Outworld), is a good asset for the music of Beyond Twilight. He has bit of a high pitched voice, at times screamish.

Section X is a concept story, about a man who has unveiled the secrets of the brain and uses a clone to test this on. Check the website's discography for the full storybook. It's a very dark story and not one with a happy end. But musically it is brought about very well. Although you could easily call Section X "another prog/power/epic metal" album, this one deserves a bit more credit. The songs are very powerful, and the guitar parts are great. As said, the band has a raging rhythm section as a foundation and the two guitar players work together excellently, featuring powerful heavy riffs and some nice solos. Zierler himself is a bit in the background, but occasionally comes out to show his skills, like in "Portrait F In Dark Waters," a short instrumental with fantastic piano work and some Savatage like band work to join Zierler and add some more strength to the song.

A very melodious song is "Sleeping Beauty," where Carpenter sings in a more mid-range voice and there are great guitar harmonies here, with some softer parts. This is one of the most interesting songs, where the band shows they can play more than just metal and those are the parts I like the most :). The same can be said of the closing song, "Section X." Here they breathe the same atmosphere you find at most Black Sabbath and Dio albums: dark with those slow, doomy melodies.

Section X is an album that absorbs you and haunts you in your sleep. But it shows once more what a great band they are and will please those who enjoyed The Devil's Hall Of Fame, but most likely also many others.


Tracklisting:
Be Careful It's My Head Too / The Path Of Darkness / Shadow Self / Sleeping Beauty / The Dark Side / Portrait F In Dark Waters / Ecstasy Arise / Section X

Musicians:
Kelly Sundown Carpenter - vocals
Finn Zierler - keyboards
Jacob Hansen - rhythm guitar
Anders Lindgren - bass
Anders Exo Kragh - lead guitars
Thomas Freden - drums

Discography:
Twilight - The Edge (demo) (1992/1999/2000)
Twilight - An Eye For An Eye (1995/2000)
The Devil's Hall Of Fame (2001)
Section X (2005)
For The Love Of Art And The Making (2006)

Genre: Progressive-Power Metal

Origin DK

Added: April 24th 2005
Reviewer: Marcel Haster
Score:
Artist website: www.beyondtwilight.dk
Hits: 2098
Language: english

  

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