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IUf you look at the sticker on the plastic that wraps the debut Wretched album The Exodus of Autonomy, you'll see a claim that this release is the best Beyond the Gate marks the second full-length effort from the North Carolina based Metal act Wretched, and in many steps it's both a step forward for the band, but also seems to cement the group in the same location as their previous effort did. While this follow-up shows the development that the band has had since we last left them, it's still mostly composed of music that isn't all that unique or original, feeding mostly off of sterotypical Melodic Death Metal riifs, random Metalcore breakdowns, and Black Dahlia Murder inspired riffs. So, what exactly does this mean for the band's latest release? One thing the band does differently on this release that works in it's favor is eliminate the need for an introductionary instrumental song. In fact, they eliminate the need for anything introductory at all, even though they felt the need to keep the outro aspect of things with "Translucence", which really is just an ambient instrumental piece with digitally altered female screams and drums that winds up being boring after the first minute. "Birthing Sloth" kicks right in with a scream and the metal pounding away, though it seems cut off by a split second and almost just cuts right in mid scream. From here, it's clear that the band has focused on composing some very intensive music, as well as pay attention to the flow of the album. While "Birthing Sloth" makes for a fast and heavy Melodic Death Metal track, it's not until the band starts blending songs between one another that the fun really begins. The music also seems to start picking up at about this point to, which starts when the tracks "In the Marrow" and "A Still Mantra" meet. This actually happens quite often through the album, and really adds some flow to the release. Outside of those two, there's also an instrumental chunk that appears between "ON the Horizon" and "Beyond the Gate - Part II" which benefitsw greatly by the band doing this, as well as "My Carrion" beingc arried into the following track "THe Guardians of Uraitahn" as if it never ended. Of course, the band doesn't seem to let go of their previous album too quickly, and continue to incorporate random unplugged instrumental sections that sound Spanish in a sense, and completely void of anything within the song itself, as well as the album. Aside that, the band still dabbled in the world of metalcore, but again only seems to bring it into the mix with the help of breakdowns through some songs. The good news of this is that not only are the breakdowns really kept to a minimum throughout the entire Beyond the Gate release, but they work very well with the music and just don't feel tacked on to slow time down or make one specific demographic happy while alienating the rest. Even during the instrumental tracks, the band minimizes the amount used to typically just one, though some songs on here will find more then one, and often those tracks aren't that good because the breakdowns wind up being very slow and generic while not even fitting the song at all. One plus of Beyond the Gate is that the band brings in a section of songs that are linked together, but this time utilize the roman numeral system properly. Instead of odd numberals, it's I and II, and it actually starts off with the song "On the Horizon". This and the following tracks "Abberation - Part I" and "Beyond the Gate - Part II" are all instrunmental tracks, and for the most part and pretty good and are blended together between each other with each track having it's own unique sound. "Beyond the Gate - Part II", however, is the odder track out as it starts off with a similar Mexican sound that could be heard earlier in the album, but the light side of this is that it follows the already established sound, as the song itself actually works with that passage throughout and builds upon it the entire time, making the six and a half minute worth sitting through. "Abberation - Part I", however, just comes off as a traditional instrumental track and, while still a good song, doesn't really do much for the repeat listener except bridge a gap. Beyond the Gate winds up being a more solid sounding recording from Wretched, as they clearly take a step in a direction they needed to go. While this isn't still one of the most impressive releases out there, it has plenty of positive aspects to it that will make the listener stand up and take notice of the band and their potential. If Wretched continue to grow the way they did on Beyond the Gate, then we should definitely expect good things. If the band were to shed the needless random instrumentals completely, as well as the breakdowns that feel tacked on, then there's no denying that this band would have what it takes to create a solid, fluid album that will excite any Melodic Death Metal fan. However, until then, the band will seem to stay rooted in music that isn't too invigorating, but still worth listening to as something in the background or as a relaxation agent. |
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