Beyond Creation's "The Aura" (Reissued)

Beyond Creation is a rather underground technical/progressive death metal band and is capable of becoming a frequented band of the sub-genre.The Canadians released their debut full-length, The Aura, in 2011. The album was reissued this year with the inclusion of a bonus demo track, "Injustice Revealed." Beyond Creation is: Simon Girard (vocals and guitar), Kévin Chartré (guitar), Philippe Boucher (drums) and Dominic "Forest" Lapointe (bass).



Photo courtesy of spirit-of-metal.com

The Aura is reminiscent of other efforts of similar bands.The album has a prominent, wailing bass at times, recalling the appeal of Necrophagist's works, and it is comparable to Neuraxis. Another, Gorguts, remains influential to some of today's technical death metal bands.

"No Request for the Corrupted" introduces the album in haste and is unapologetic about its bridging of growls that range in texture. The following track, "Coexistence," is noted for its drilling instrumentation near the beginning, but it has flexibility with rhythmic change in other periods.

After a short, but active, introduction of "Chromatic Horizon," "Omnipresent Perception" emerges, and it is instantly apparent that it reigns as a stronger track, celebrated for a consistent arrangement in an almost grooving chorus.

The official video for Beyond Creation's "Omnipresent Perception." Courtesy of YouTube. 

 

The proceeding number is "Injustice Revealed"; the bass is understated, and the guitar barely peaks in between the intense chunks of blast beats. In a contrasting spirit, "Le dètenteur" makes an appearance with a break seemingly releasing the bass for a moment to breathe.

"The Aura" can almost be matched with the approach of "Omnipresent Perception"; its defining quality is attributed to a dreamlike atmosphere that melts into itself. "Social Disability" takes glimpses into a more intense direction and into the subdued percussive clicks of the short track, "Elevation Path."

"The Deported" is assertively fluid in nature, drum fills are present at the beginning and less busy guitars are present; these elements, however, make brief returns to the technical styling that Beyond Creation established in the previous tracks. This includes the revisiting of "Injustice Revealed," the demo track; on the basis of technique, the song has a strong resemblance to its counterpart and offers minor changes.

Overall, The Aura feeds off of a rich technicality and the roughness of death metal.Tracks such as, "Omnipresent Perception" and "The Aura" are solid; other songs may fade into the subconscious of a listener. So, some may have hoped for more memorable tracks on The Aura, but this does not keep the album from showing off its tasteful measures.The Aura takes a leap into the uncertain realm of technical death metal and situates itself within the calamity.

Discover additional information about Beyond Creation at their page on the Season of Mist website.