Beyond Helevete from Berlin are a one-man band of the Black Metal persuasion. That man is Sven Krause or Natrgaard as his mum probably knows him. (I may have flipped that?) He has recently been joined by a session drummer, Jonas Scmidd to alleviate the loneliness.
What am I saying? Loneliness and despair are the order of the day for Beyond Helvete. Following an 8-year hiatus and now signed to Immortal Frost Productions Sven has emerged from the darkness with MMXX, the third full length release.
MMXX is an interesting mix of lo-fi atmospheric black metal and mid paced groovy Black ‘n’ Roll a la Sarke or latter-day Darkthrone, with Sven’s vocal style being very reminiscent of Nocturno Culto throughout.
That being said this is not a greasy beer-soaked groove sodden Black ‘n’ Roll album per se. Sure there are elements and plenty of foot tapping and fist banging moments to be had. The imaginatively titled “Intro” is 50 seconds of high-octane groovy blackness that just states “This is Beyond Helvete” like a burly WWE combatant entering a Florida stadium. I can imagine the Budweiser and popcorn flying!
What a quick about turn though “The Way to Entelechy” busts in with a flurry of blackened blasts before dropping into a rolling pulsating kinda sexy groove. Just as my hips start to sway and I feel like Buffalo Bill it shifts gear again back into a tormented pain wracked place of despair. The listener is tossed out of their finest strutting trousers into cowering under a soiled blanket in the corner of the room while razor sharp guitars are pummelled by crystal clear drums. This is like DSBM played on a galleon.
The shift into “Signs in the Sand” sees the frustration and despair given a twist of angst and rage and the fist that was beating at the breast is now raised to the sky. The vocals are given some compression that give them an industrial Rev Co feel that continues elsewhere on the album – adds a nice bleak texture that is at odds with the very organic sounding drums and guitars.
“Crowd of the Faceless” has some damn huge riffs in it linked by post black sequences with mournful clean singing. You could mosh to this – proper old skool loping about in a circle pausing just to slam into someone. There is something about this track that reminds me of the first time that I heard Antichrist Superstar by Brian – such is the gritty other-worldiness of it. Such is the way with MMXX before I notice the big riffs have segued into “From the Knowledge of Ignorance” which stomps in like an angry troll with an arrow between its toes. There is something dark and industrial about the atmospheres that Beyond Helvete crate. I am put in mind of Killing Joke and even Nitzer Ebb in a world without synths. The forementioned track especially has a gothic air.
“The Search for Truth” injects some blistering black metal chaos back into proceedings adding some waspish buzzing into the heavy-handed thud of the drums. The title track which brings things to the close is a jambalaya of acoustic guitars, whistles and western rhythms before erupting into some more stomping madness. All the way through my time with this album I find myself pumping my arms up and down like a giant crushing villagers or what the young slam metal kids call mashing potato dancing. There is something almost martial in the beats behind the music here and it is infectious.
I wandered into MMXX thinking it was another punky groovy I or Darkthrone clone but ended up swayed by Beyond Helvete’s mix of styles and bizarrely for a one-man band the use of the drums. I will definitely have a peek at the back catalogue.
(7/10 Matt Mason)
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