In one form or another this Australian band has been around for over two decades having previously been called Suffering, the intervening years since changing to this current moniker didn’t yield any releases until 2004, some eight to nine years after the change. Since then a couple of demos, one full length and an EP have been released with the last actual new product being said EP ‘Lamia’ released in 2014, though the compilation out in 2016 did have a couple of unreleased tracks. Quite why it has taken half a decade plus to get the sophomore full length out, even though the songs were recorded between 2017 and 2020, I’m not sure, but what I am certain about is that Beyond Mortal Dreams may be a rather innocuous moniker their music is most definitely not, blasphemous enraged death metal that smashes into you like a freight train. All the band members have stage names; Ghuul, Bloodspawn, Doomsayer and Maleficus though they do have their real names in the booklet too, but I like bands that use stage names, it adds to the charisma and mysticism.

Not much has changed since the ‘Lamia’ EP musically or visually as the band seem to like cover art depicting hellish torturous realms, which works fine and makes for excellent computer desktop images. There is an inhumanity to this album, immediately apparent when the title track breathlessly opens the album with backing noises. Their guttural deathly assertions are murderous, pulverising in intensity as ‘Hell Of Eternal Death’ follows. References to acts like Immolation and Incantation are obvious, but one predominant band I was scribbling down was Nile. The band has that punishing density like Nile complete with the added effects for theatrics. With cavernous vocals and ominous soundscaping the album makes you sweat buckets as ‘Deficit In Flesh’ sonically depicts.

The flow from track to track is excellent too, carefully laid out cohesion as ‘They Are Seven’ shows with a splurge of drum fill linked to the fine riffing, as a slight processed sci-fi like vocal is heard, unless it is just electronics/keyboards or even some weird guitar effect I’m hearing. Be that as it may the song is devastatingly effective as the track is loaded with brittling lead work, creating a blackened ethos the band ingrains so well.

The last three tunes all span seven minutes giving the listener time to submerge into their infernal demonic world as ‘Decimation Hymn’ begins that trio with massive density, suffocating terror and unearthly horror from start to finish that continues with ‘Misanthrope Messiah’. There seems to be orchestrations here, very similar to Nile I thought as the bands cascading grisliness exudes malevolence. Closing track ‘Peace Through Annihilation’ offers a more caustic styling, blast beats rain down amidst the songs sinister toning especially created by the riffing as this album is definitely for fans of inhuman destructive death metal.

(8.5/10 Martin Harris)

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https://lavadome.bandcamp.com/album/abomination-of-the-flames