After Infinity – Beyond Eternity

After Infinity
Beyond Eternity
Label: Rockshots Records
Out: 23^rd October 2026 Playing time: 50:34

The Finnish power metal project After Infinity was founded in 2022 by the Hungarian guitarist and songwriter Zsolt Szilagyi. And straight away, one wonders: why ‘Finnish’? Sure, the majority of the (guest) vocalists are from Finland. But actually, the project has an international line-up. Anyway. The self-titled debut album was released in 2024. Album number two, “Beyond Eternity”, is set to follow in October. The music is aimed at fans of Europe, H.E.A.T, Van Halen, Sonata Arctica, Symphony X, Helloween, Entwine, A Great Big World and X Japan.

‘Crooked Carniva’ opens with a sacred-sounding organ playing. Then the strings provide plenty of grandeur. After a one-and-a-half-minute intro, the song really gets going. It sounds a bit like Italian-style Power Metal and would fit well into the Rhapsody universe. On ‘Infinite Feeling’ the keyboards take the lead at first. The seductive voice of former Battle Beast frontwoman Nitte Valo can be heard. But she can also sing harder, thus connecting vocally with earlier times. The duet with Leonard F. Guillan works very well. Fortunately, there’s less oversweet bombast here. Epic choruses introduce ‘King With No Crown’. The bombast returns too, though not as strongly as on the opener. Easy-listening Melodic Power Metal. In contrast, ‘Maybe She’s Crying’ is a contemplative ballad, dominated for long stretches by gentle piano melodies. There’s also a quiet guitar solo to be heard. In the interlude ‘Mortal Vessel’ we hear a few spoken words from Skye Alley; otherwise, it’s instrumental and, to me, feels more like a filler track. ‘Everlasting Mark’, on the other hand, is of a completely different calibre. Sara Strömmer (also known as Sara Vanhamäki) brings her very own touch. Whilst you might initially think she’s moving into Pop realm, she occasionally throws in some harsh-sounding vocal passages. And the album continues with catchy Power Metal, albeit at a fast pace. Nitte Valo can be heard again on “Eternal Resentment”. Although her voice doesn’t sound as powerful as it used to with Battle Beast, it still lends the track a strong Rock vibe. As the title suggests, ‘Whisper In The Air’ is a gentle ballad. Mika Tauriainen is accompanied by electric piano and strings. The album concludes with the extended epic ‘Hands Of Time’. After a brief string introduction, the track initially takes on a hymn-like quality. Epic orchestration underpins fast drumming and guitar playing. The guitars sound frantic at times but are replaced by heavy riffs. A very progressive track.

Actually, there isn’t much new to be heard on ‘Beyond Eternity’. What you do hear is catchy Power Metal, mostly at high speed. However, two ballads have also made it onto the album. The album primarily thrives on a variety of vocalists who put their own stamp on the individual tracks. Only the closing track offers a little more variety.

After Infinity – Whisper In The Air (Feat. Mika Tauriainen): https://youtu.be/A98rAMr7fUk?si=3nl3hENZ4o-aGcQJ

Lineup:

Zsolt Szilágyi – Guitars, Synthesizers, Drum programming, Vocals (backing), Songwriting, Lyrics

Guests- / Session-Musicians:

Gideon Ricardo – Orchestrations, Synthesizers
Ville Koskinen – Bass
Aitor Arrastia (Metal de Facto) – Vocals (tracks 1, 9)
Nitte Valo (Dreamtale, ex-Battle Beast) – Vocals (tracks 2, 7), Vocals (backing)
Leonard F. Guillan (ex-King Company) – Vocals (track 2)
Paolo Ribaldini (Delain, Leverage, Seraphiel) – Vocals (tracks 3, 4)
Sara Strömmer  (Shereign, ex-Fear of Domination) – Vocals (track 6)
Mika Tauriainen (Entwine, Shamrain) – Vocals (track 8)
Skye Alley – Spoken word (track 5)
Jesse Henrik Eemeli – Spoken word (track 9), Vocals (backing)

Track list:

• Crooked Carnival (feat. Aitor Arrastia)
• Infinite Feeling (feat. Leonard F. Guillan and Nitte Valo)
• King with no Crown (feat. Paolo Ribaldini)
• Maybe She’s Crying (feat. Paolo Ribaldini)
• Mortal Vessel
• Everlasting Mark (feat. Sara Strömmer)
• Eternal Resentment (feat. Nitte Valo)
• Whisper in the Air (feat. Mika Tauriainen)
• Hands of Time (feat. Aitor Arrastia)