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The long winters in Finland force you to stay inside and what else can you do but write new songs for a new album? Two years after their fifth album "New World Shadows" this new album 'Beyond' is ready. Band leader Markus Vanhala wrote almost all the music for this album and Jukka Pelkonen was responsible for the lyrics.

The songs on this album all have melodic death as a base, but there is so much more. The contrast between the aggressive grunts and the very melodic synths and guitars is done with excellent result. You can also hear that besides In Flames and Dark Tranquility there are some progressive rock/metal influences and the melancholy atmosphere from bands like Amorphis and even Swallow the Sun wanders around. The melodic and bright synths and guitars you can hear immediately in the song "The New Dynamic".

Every now and then the songs have some clean (background) singing parts, like in "In the Rim" and the semi-ballad "Who Could Say". The changing from faster and harder parts into cleaner softer ones is very natural. "Formidable" is a catchy lingering track, but just before you get into the comfort zone, the heavy track "The Sonic Sign" awakens you. The same can be said about a track like "The Unknowing", this blows you away with blast beat power in case you dozed of with "Who could Say". Dan Swäno took care of the mix and mastering and he even contributed with some singing on the extra track "Subdivisions" (Rush cover), which can be heard on the special edition.

Omnium Gatherum combines the Göthenburg melo death with more progressive and doomier parts. A kind of mix of Amorphis, In Flames and Swallow the Sun, but with an identity of their own.

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