By Lisa Burke
July 11th 2016, The Whisky-A-Go-Go, West Hollywood CA: While lots of people enjoy heavy metal, few of these same people get on board with the idea of technical death metal, but those who do and are unaware of a brilliant band called Beyond Creation should soon introduce themselves. I hold them very high in my ranking of bands in this genre. On Monday July 11th 2016, I visited the Whisky-A-Go-Go to see Beyond Creation as the headliners with support acts Rivers Of Nihil and The Zenith Passage. As a well booked show this one was a success in terms of all bands hovering in the vain of technical death metal.
As I arrived on time for LA natives The Zenith Passage who have only been in existence since 2012, I basically had a schizophrenically progressive response to their set. It was full of ups and downs, and while I understand the progressive nature of the song structures at times, it came across as choppy and unclear in moments. Most of the points where it went askew was primarily due to the drumming which overdosed a bit on the high hat and seemed out of place at times. The vocal style is odd as it almost has a rap flavor under the death growls, and mixed with the spurts of technical death metal guitar playing it either strangely worked in their favor or became confusing. I responded best to the song ‘Deus Deceptor’ on their newest album as it seemed the most figured out in terms of style and structure. Their use of backing tracks worked appropriately and there really are some difficult moments in this band that are pulled off with ease, including the vocals which must be acknowledged and appreciated. They are definitely off in their own universe in style which is not a bad thing, but it’s almost as if they left us lagging behind floating in space struggling to catch up. This is all due to hodgepodge structure that is a matter of taste, so this is not a criticism in any way, but for me I needed more specific paths drawn out in some of the songs that flew in many directions at the same time ranging from hardcore to death, to technical death. They are, however, definitely worth checking out if you are into the genre.
Next up, Pennsylvania’s Rivers Of Nihil stormed the castle and put on a tough death metal show again with a varied style that consisted of deathcore, grindcore, and interspersed spurts of technical death. The bass may have had more strings than I have fingers, but I saw majority of them being used and in a very fun and interesting way. The cohesion here was happening, yet the diversity in the songs was actually slightly lacking even though the point was made and the flavor was pleasant. These are five tough dudes who commanded the stage well, and in their case, the speedier the better. One thing you can always count on at the Whisky is the unpredictability of the lighting falling on a scale of great to whack, and of course there has to be those times when the clear bright back lighting tries to blind you during someone’s set. This was the case here, but all in all, it was an average night for the lighting and the band was unaffected because they were too busy kicking death metal ass.
Canada’s own Beyond Creation is a beautiful creation, led by the genius himself Simon Girard whose vocals and guitar work are a total inspiration. The style of playing is perhaps one of a kind and the difficulty of playing technical death metal while singing in perfect death pitch is an impressive feat in itself. The other guitarist is also just as inspiring to watch in all of his hair-whipping glory, and there is a serious lack of head stocks and such an extraordinary multitude of strings on stage in total that I probably can’t even count that high. The drumming is an enhancement as well with its range from progressive style to blast beats, and the off tempo groove at times works. The clean, fluid and progressive nature of the music really sets them high on the quality scale. The backing track melodies are perfectly placed and minimal, which fits into the style without actually missing a live keyboardist. One of the later songs in the evening was ‘Fundamental Process’ which is anything but simple and the irony ensues. They really do have a basic style that is built up and layered upon in a very structured and fluid way that not many bands that try to follow suit can get away with. Once you dive into Beyond Creation you will always return to see such a young band of eleven years concur technical death metal in such an abstract and beautiful way.
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Remaining Tour Dates:
7/16/2016 Armstrong Metalfest – Armstrong, BC
7/17/2016 Filthy’s – Edmonton, AB
7/19/2016 Park Theater – Winnipeg, MB
7/20/2016 Amsterdam Bar & Hall – Minneapolis, MN
7/21/2016 Reggie’s – Chicago, IL
7/22/2016 O’Shecky’s – Columbus, OH
7/23/2016 Hard Luck Bar – Toronto, ON