EARTHBORN EVOLUTION

"Earthborn Evolution" is the 2nd full-length studio album by Canadian death metal act Beyond Creation. The album was released through Season of Mist in October 2014. Beyond Creation was formed in 2005 and released the generally well received debut full-length studio album "The Aura" in 2011. Bassist Dominic "Forest" Lapointe is also a member of fellow countrymen Augury, B.A.R.F. and Atheretic.

The music on "Earthborn Evolution" pretty much continues the technical/progressive death metal style, which was initiated on "The Aura (2011)". Artists like Augury, Fallujah, and to some extent Obscura are all valid references. What sets Beyond Creation apart from other similar acts is the dominant bass playing by Dominic "Forest" Lapointe, and while the rest of the music is also incredibly well played, it's his playing that's the real highlight on "Earthborn Evolution". It's nothing short of amazing. The rest of the music is fairly standard technical/progressive death metal with tons of tempo- and time signature changes, ultra fast fretboard runs, semi-jazzy guitar solos, and a suiting level of brutality. It's all delivered by true professionals, but the vocals sound a bit soulless to my ears. They are pretty monotone growling, and not even the occasional higher pitched screaming vocal part can save that part of the music from being a bit one-dimensional. Lead vocalist/guitarist Simon Girard gets the job done, but not more than that, and sometimes I get the feeling that the vocals are an afterthought instead of an integrated and important part of the music. That feeling is further enhanced by the fact that there are so much going on at any given time during the albums playing time, that this could easily have been released as an instrumental album.

The material are generally very complex, both in structure and in execution, but that of course won't prove a challenge to fans of this particular death metal style. Not many tracks stand out, as the band focus more on technical playing than they do on hooks, but I'd mention "Sous La Lueur De L'Empereur" as one of the highlights. It's got some memorable themes, and I think the album could have prospered from more tracks like that, featuring more memorable hooks.

When that is said "Earthborn Evolution" is still a high quality release in the genre, featuring high level musicianship, a professional take on composition, and a powerful and clear sounding production, which suits the music perfectly. A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.