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October 12, 2008 |
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01. Scream Machine
02. And... You Will Die
03. Save Me
04. The Human Race
05. Coming At You
06. Dreams Come True
07. Telling Lies
08. I Don't Need This
09. Words Of Wisdom
10. My Last Words
11. Your Time Has Come
12. The Faith
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Tim "Ripper" Owens has come a long way since his early days fronting the JUDAS PRIEST cover band, BRITISH STEEL. To provide a brief historical summary, he sang in other bands such as BRAINICIDE and SEATTLE, laid down vocals for WINTERS BANE's 1993 album, "Heart Of A Killer", and then actually joined the very same Metal band he idolized since high school, JUDAS PRIEST, in 1996 and recorded two studio albums with them ("Jugulator" and "Demolition"). It certainly isn't every day that your average hard-working man (who just happened to be blessed with perhaps one of THE best screaming voices on the planet) gets an opportunity to join one of the world's greatest all-time Heavy Metal bands. Who would have thought?
Even though his time with PRIEST came to an amicable end in 2003, when the door was opened for Rob Halford's return, Owens' had earned himself more than enough recognition and respect in the Metal industry to pretty much go wherever he wanted. Obviously the whole thing worked out for the best because that same year, Jon Schaffer hired Owens to come into the studio and lay down vocal tracks for the next ICED EARTH album, "The Glorious Burden". The collaboration worked out so well that Owens wound up joining ICED EARTH as a permanent replacement for the departed Matt Barlow.
During his off-time from ICED EARTH, Owens managed to put together his new solo band, BEYOND FEAR, which led to a worldwide deal with SPV/Steamhammer for the release of this impressive self-titled debut. Interestingly enough, Owens has spent all this time as somewhat of a hired hand, singing OTHERS' music, so it's really great to see that he now has the unrestricted creative freedom to take hold of the reigns and do what he wants - his way.
BEYOND FEAR (also comprised of John Comprix - rhythm and lead guitar, Dwane Bihary - rhythm guitar, Dennis Hayes - bass and Eric Elkins - drums) can be described as a mixture of traditional '80s-styled Heavy Metal with some elemental traces of Power/Thrash Metal. Opener/album stand-out "Scream Machine" breathes thick steam and exhales blazing fire with its locomotive speed and paralyzing banshee screams (courtesy of Owens' chrome-polished windpipes). This is just a fine fist-clenching, neck-breaking, skin-raising Metal anthem that nails you down in helpless submission. "And… You Will Die" pretty much follows suit with the same level of intensity, with Owens relying on his versatile vocal range to add some flavour to the song. "Save Me" is an interesting change of pace, sporting a more straight-forward tempo while holding on to the high-pitched vocals and killer, distorted riffs.
With the good parts come a few dull ones, namely "I Don't Need This" (a little too "wankey" and stale) and "The Faith" (those repetitive verses at the end are rather uninteresting). With those aside however, tracks like "Telling Lies", "The Human Race" (check out the melded vocal/guitar duet at the end), and "Words Of Wisdom" provide the pack with more than enough heavy-hitting battery to hold your interest. Of course, you can't go wrong having legendary producer Jim Morris (CANNIBAL CORPSE, MORBID ANGEL, ICED EARTH) behind the controls. In plain English, that means that the production here is excellent - crisp and clear - and all of the instruments sit beneath the vocals nicely.
BEYOND FEAR is not another "check" under Owens' list of jobs he was hired for under contractual terms, but rather is an avenue for him to steer his creative lead with. You absolutely can't criticize any musician who takes advantage of the opportunity to do their own thing, even if it is a side-project. Although not necessarily his most memorable performance to date (see ICED EARTH's "The Glorious Burden" for that), Owens has indeed delivered a pretty solid album here. One thing is for certain: BEYOND FEAR is Metal to the core and when it comes to pure organic "traditional" Metal in the year 2006, you can’t get much better than this.
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