Album Review | Beyond God – The Great Divide

Beyond God
The Great Divide
Out: December 8^th, 2023
Playing time: 46:44

The Netherlands is a stronghold of symphonic metal. Bands like Within Temptation, Epica, Delain, After Forever or Stream of Passion come from this Benelux country. Beyond God also hail from the Netherlands, from Maarheeze (North Brabant). Founded in 2008 by drummer Ferry Guns. Besides singer Meryl Foreman, who has been on board since 2015, he is currently the only constant in the band. I was able to see the band live at FemME V in Eindhoven. There, Beyond God presented their second studio album “Dying To Feel Alive”. In the meantime, the band has reached album number four – “The Great Divide”, which will be released in December.

“Cronos” starts with strings, like a short intro. But it is not. Soon you can hear the dark timbre of singer Meryl Foreman. And little by little, the instruments kick in. Which makes for a powerful sound. The tempo also picks up a bit. Later on, there is also a Progressive flavour. In “Frostbite” it gets a bit more powerful, with a strong orchestration. Besides the vocals, however, the guitar riffs dominate, which together with the drums have a thrashy effect. In addition, there are some discreet growls (Meryl herself?). And of course, an extensive guitar solo must not be missing. Short sound gimmicks at the beginning of “Coronation”, which have to give way to heavy riffs a short time later. The vocals are accompanied by rhythmic drumming. But also, double bass thunderstorms. And again, a lot of orchestration, which never pushes itself into the foreground. “Heartbreaker” starts as a big power ballad. But here, too, the emphasis is on power. Later, hectic, thrashy drumming sets in again. Another guitar solo is the icing on the cake. Keyboard carpets, rhythmic drumming and an almost singing guitar introduce the title track “The Great Divide”. But as before, the Dutch can’t really be quiet. With “A Sirens Cry”, the musicians don’t dwell on the preface, but start right away with a lot of power. “Pierced”, on the other hand, seems almost anthemic. And then it comes, the contemplative ballad “The Elder Tree”. At the beginning, a thunderstorm can be heard. Later, the singer is accompanied by piano and string arrangements. But then it’s over again with all contemplation. The last two songs “Aphantasia” and “After Love Ends” again offer the melange of symphonic and thrashy passages. Calm alternates with hectic.

“The Great Divide” is not an ordinary Symphonic Metal album and Beyond God are not a typical Symphonic Metal band. This starts with the vocals, which are mostly in lower pitches. And it continues with lots of Heavy Metal riffs as well as Progressive and Thrash Metal references. Of course, the orchestration of drummer Ferry Guns is omnipresent. But it never seems dominating and self-indulgent but is always song-serving. And that is exactly what makes this album so extraordinary.

Lineup:

Ferry Guns – Drums, Orchestrations
Meryl Foreman – Vocals
Dennis Winkel – Bass
Mariusz Krawitowski – Guitars (lead)

Track list:

• Cronos
• Frostbite
• Coronation
• Heartbreaker
• The Great Divide
• A Sirens Cry
• Pierced
• The Elder Tree
• Aphantasia
• After Love Ends