Review Summary: This sucks.
Beyond The Black plays a very over produced form of symphonic metal heavily influenced by modern pop rock. Listening to their debut album Songs of Love and Death instead of bands like Delain or Sirenia or Amaranthe is like ***ing a realdoll instead of a real woman.
This albums comprises of ten original songs and a cover of heavy metal legends Motörhead which is surprising because the nineteen year old vocalist Jennifer Haben sounds more like a fan of Chad Kroeger's wife Avril Lavigne, not Lemmy Kilmister.
Most of the songs here follow a similar verse-chorus pattern but most songs have their own unique identity. There are heavier faster songs, there are ballads, duets, one of the songs even incorporates a folk melody. Despite all that, the songs kind of sound the same because none of these different elements stand out. Even the choruses are not all that catchy except the one in Numb (not a Linkin Park cover).
The guitars in this album sound very polished and the riffs are as bland as they come. There is absolutely no memorable riff in here. Guitars are there to add heaviness most of the time. However there are some fast guitar solos but they sound almost as generic as the riffs. The drumming in this album also lacks creativity. Fast drum beats are repeated throughout this album in a similar monotonous pattern. Orchestral sounds are heard at different points of the songs and they are done rather well. They are able to add some dynamic to the otherwise bland music. But the keyboard melodies during the ballads don't have the same effect.
Vocals are often the main focus in symphonic metal and this band is no exception. However teenage female vocalist Jennifer Haben does not have the angelic beauty in her voice like many of the better known voices in the genre. She sounds more like someone from a modern rock or pop punk band. She has more in common with Avril Lavigne and Hayley Williams than Sharon den Adel or Floor Jansen. At times she also tries to sound sexy like Taylor Momsen but she is unable to bring in the hotness factor. There is also a male vocalist whose growls are so weak that it's rather funny and his clean vocals are almost as bad as his growls.
Beyond The Black is a band that have tried to create a modern pop metal album taking influence from different types of symphonic metal bands like Delain, Sirenia, Amaranthe etc. But due to lack of experience and songwriting ability, they haven't been able to show much potential on their debut. Whether they will able to improve in the future only time will tell. But for now, it is wise to skip this album and stick to the bands that have inspired them.
