(written by Islander)
What goes around comes around, and sometimes when fortune smiles the circle shines — though in the case of Wild Beyond‘s music, “shines” isn’t quite the right word. We’ll find some more accurate ones in a minute or two.
What went around the first time was this Philadelphia band’s self-titled debut album in 2023. Gravitating to it thanks to Adam Burke‘s spectacular cover art, we found rumbling and ravaging blackened thrash, but much more intricate and unpredictable in its maneuvers than much of what rips and races along under that genre banner. The music was often vicious and ugly but with a plethora of moving parts that were fascinating to follow. At times it produced hallucinatory effects; at others it became gloriously exhilarating.
And what’s coming back around now is a new Wild Beyond EP ominously named Black Sites In Lower Chambers, which will be released on October 17th in cooperation with Fiadh Productions. For reasons you will soon discover we are very happy to help spread the word through our premiere of a diabolical song off the EP that’s titled “Slaughtering the Lion“.
photo by Matthew Decker
The song opens in a way you probably won’t suspect based on its name and what we wrote above regarding some of the key aspects of Wild Beyond‘s first album. Moving slowly and with an opening riff that both snarls and squirms (both gnarly and needling in tone), the music creates an aura of beastly menace and chilling magic, more reminiscent of gothic horror/doom than black metal.
But the song turns out to be a slow build. As the bass slugs and the drums chop and boom, the guitars begin feverishly quivering and wailing, desperately blaring and frantically darting, creating a mood of tension and fear. Meanwhile, the vocals arrive in a tandem of caustic screams and dismal chant-like words.
Yet, as the song’s name portends, the music is also slaughtering. The drums start vigorously battering; the riffing contorts in jubilantly mad frenzies but with a thrashing pulse in the mix; the vocals sound even more insane. Everything reaches a fever pitch as blast-beats explode and the fleet-fingered riffing becomes a head-spinning (and head-hooking) spasm of derangement.
Even in the song’s superheated finale, however, the music still sounds occult, like a supernatural manifestation, just as it did in the beginning.
WILD BEYOND is:
Edward Gonet III: Vocals, guitars, lyrics
Evan Madden: Drums
Jimmy Viola: Bass, keyboards, additional guitars
The EP’s track list is below. You’ll note that it concludes with a cover of Dimmu Borgir‘s “Spellbound (By The Devil),” with its pummeling drums and meticulous keyboards faithfully recreated by drummer Evan Madden and bassist Jimmy Viola.
TRACK LIST:
1. Dream State Abductions (instrumental)
2. Slaughtering The Lion
3. Thy Entrance, Night
4. Visions Before The Seizure
5. Spellbound (By The Devil)
Black Sites In Lower Chambers was mixed and mastered by Ryan Mulvanerty, and it features a cover photo by Elizabeth D’Ambrosio, and logo and layout by Chanda Gonet. Drums were recorded by Ryan Mulvanerty at Granny’s Lodge in Philadelphia. Guitars, bass, keyboards, and vocals were recorded by Jimmy Viola at Red Planet Room 10 and House Riot, Philadelphia.
Pre-orders for the EP on cassette and digital formats will launch tomorrow, September 5th, a Bandcamp Friday. The album comes recommended for fans of: Bathory, Immortal, Abigor, Aura Noir, and Emperor.
PRE-ORDER TOMORROW:
https://wildbeyond.bandcamp.com
AMPWALL:
https://ampwall.com/a/wild-beyond