BEYOND THE STYX: Sentence (HARDCORE): review / opinion to read on Music Waves

With "Stiigma", Beyond The Styx had made a quite impressive copy, a gripping work tinged with dark atmospheres between hardcore and post-metal. With Pandemic, we had to be patient to savor "Sentence", continuation of the adventures of our Frenchmen. The band called upon Christian Donaldson, who worked with Cryptopsy, and he lands on WTF Records, a big name of the world hardcore scene.

What strikes at first impression is the visual. "Sentence" has a cover tinged with a mystical spirit that gives it a great strength. This one is expressed with a rare intensity from the beginning. Beyond The Styx puts forward its hardcore side and hurts. The quartet formed by 'DC', 'Collateral', 'New World Disorer' and 'ESC XIX' is incredibly powerful. We find all the aggressiveness of the style with murderous riffs, abrasive vocals and effective choruses in the spirit of the New York scene. Moreover, on 'New World Disorder' Luis (Teething) brings an impressive warlike ferocity.

After this punchy beginning, the band has the good idea to vary the tone by finding a more metallic sound. The duet formed by 'Self Hatred' and 'Chain On Life' is of a beautiful efficiency from which comes out a percussive death thrash spirit with a heavy and dark side. More metalcore, 'Scorch Ad', in duet with Guillaume (Final Shodown), has the same striking force, a glaucous side and a very heavy solo. The other tracks go back to hardcore until a final of a scary madness.

With "Sentence", Beyond The Styx offers a hard-hitting and nasty record cut in the best of an incisive hardcore containing also some very gripping darker passages. - Official website

BEYOND THE STYX

SENTENCE

AUTRE LABEL

HARDCORE