LIFE BEYOND

"Life Beyond" is the 4th full-length studio album by German thrash metal act Deathrow. The album was released through West Virginia Records in 1992. It´s the successor to "Deception Ignored" from 1988 and features the same four-piece lineup who recorded the predecessor. "Deception Ignored (1988)" is often mentioned among the seminal technical thrash metal releases from the 80s, and to fans of technical thrash metal frenzy it is indeed a mandatory listen. Four years down the line and in the midst of great changes in the musical climate (thrash was in a heavy decline in popularity in 1992), it was always going to be interesting to hear how Deathrow would follow up a release which had the impact that "Deception Ignored (1988)" did (and still has).

In some ways "Life Beyond" continues the technical thrash metal style of the predecessor but in other ways it´s a slightly less technical and less challenging release. Some of the riffs and rhythms are more straight forward German thrash metal riffs, but at the end of the day "Life Beyond" still qualifies to the tagged a technical thrash metal release. The vocals by Milo are predominantly shouted, raw, and staccato delivered, but he occasionally (very rarely actually) adds melodic singing to the tracks. It´s obvious he isn´t an educated singer, and he sometimes sounds a little strained and even a little out of breath. With a little vocal training I´m sure the results would have been a more satisfying listen, because as it is, the vocals are definitely the weak link of the music.

The tracks are relatively challenging in structure and technically complex, and there are some pretty interesting musical ideas on the album. Overall the songs aren´t memorable enough though and the monotone powerless vocals definitely doesn´t help on that impression. "Life Beyond" is well produced and other than the vocals the album features high level musicianship on all posts. I´m not sure I find the stiff drumming that great, but there´s nothing wrong with the technical level of playing. Drummer Markus Hahn just doesn´t have a groove and the transitions and changes in the music don´t flow and often become a little abrupt and awkward. Upon conclusion "Life Beyond" is quality wise a pretty standard German thrash metal album with an added technical edge, and those who looked forward to listening to "Deception Ignored (1988)" number 2 will probably be disappointed. A 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating is warranted.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives).