The UK Death Metal scene has always been there, I mean we have Napalm Death and Carcass for starters, but in more recent years things have been amping up. Celestial Sanctuary, Party Cannon, Vision Of Disfigurement, Colpocleisis, Crepitation and so much more. Honestly, it’s great and I’m at a point now where new UK Death Metal acts really excite me.
So imagine my happiness when the Nottingham based, Prosthetic Records signed band Beyond Grace dropped under my nose. I took the bait and ran with it, the band started in 2005 as Threnody, then changed again to Bloodguard and finally to Beyond Grace (which isn’t much better than the last two). They have worked hard and in 2017 released their debut full length Seekers which I must confess completely passed me by. With the backing of Prosthetic Records though we can now usher in Our Kingdom Undone, the bands second full-length release.
The opening riffs of Dark Forest Doctrine are filled with intrigue, slight Tech melodies and an overall Death Metal tone. Its sluggish opening soon leads into faster almost Melodic Death Metal, which is especially enhanced through the vocal range which is more akin to The Black Dahlia Murder than say Cannibal Corpse. Barmecide Feast and Hive Mind don’t add much, save for a few little Tech nods in the guitars, which are welcome but too few and far between for my liking. Factions Speak Louder Than Herds (which is an excellent song name) is a little bit more interesting, it has a good groove and the bass really pops well, it could still be more though, it’s just on the cusp of brilliance.
By the time The Price Of Peace rolls in I haven’t totally lost interest, sure I’m not blown away by this release but it isn’t the worst Death Metal I’ve ever heard. Basically, what I can say is that this is very much modern Death Metal, from the vocals to the instrumentation, presentation and beyond. Although therein lies some of the fault, I’ve heard other modern bands doing this kind of thing much better, which is a shame because Beyond Grace are clearly a talented bunch. The final titular track serves to be some sort of ten minute plus epic, does it succeed? Not really, pointlessly long with no drive or purpose to it, again it’s just missing that additional edge.
Overall I’m not bowled over, is it good? Yeah, but it’s not going to be winning any accolades. Sure if I saw this band in my home town I’d enjoy it, maybe I’d even buy a patch or something, but I’m not going to be raving about it. It’s modern Death Metal without much in the way of additional excitement, good, well rounded but bog standard Tech Death, and sadly with that genre I’m very much a go big or go home person.
(6/10 George Caley)
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