Back from Beyond

Huge fan of from beyond. This album just didn't capture the same doom like energy for me. Disappointing.

It got here fast and I was very glad because these old school death metal masters are back with a crushing new album. Sweeping drums with beautiful solos and raging slab rhythms topped off with magnificent vocals. This album is in the top of the 2014 death metal picks!!!!!

When From Beyond dropped in 1991 , I was in my early teens and death metal was beginning to spread it's infection in full force from Florida and beyond. I picked up Massacre's debut album . While I enjoyed it , I didn't find it too memorable or groundbreaking in contrast to my favorite bands Death, Napalm Death , Obituary , Deicide , Cannibal Corpse, etc. When the word was out that Massacre was returning with a new full length , I must admit I was curious but not too excited. I listened to the song As We Wait To Die on-line and thought it was pretty brutal , so I decided to see what the rest of the album had to offer . I'm not going to compare this incarnation of Massacre to the original lineup , because they are two different animals . From Beyond was a different place, different time and stands on its own merits . This new album carries the old Massacre sound with purity, integrity and a modern upgrade . It's a solid slab of old school death metal, nothing more nothing less. Rick Rozz tears through riffs and solos that harken back to Death's Leprosy and old Slayer , while Terry Butler's bass grumbles like a thick cement mixer . Instead of sounding like Barney Greenway ( like Kam Lee did ) , Ed Webb's vocal lacerations and bellows sounds akin to George Fisher and Kyle Symons ( ex-Hate Plow/Malevolent Creation). The new drummer is a solid addition to the fold , too. This album most reminds of Malevolent Creation's The Will To Kill with some Grave's You'll Never See influence , tainted with old Death and Slayer . It may be derivative , unoriginal and slightly generic in contrast to the upper tier death metal bands, but it is a plausible return to form . Lyrically , the themes deal with apocalypse, religion , war and serial killers . It's an enjoyable listen but it could have been shortened by about 4 or 5 songs and some of the songs bleed into each other . The mid-paced songs also bog the album down with monotony. I guess Massacre are making up for lost time . This is another solid comeback album, perhaps not as impressive as the return of Asphyx, Broken Hope or Carcass . Quality-wise it is on par with recent Malevolent Creation or Grave.

The affectionately remembered, if not universally revered, Massacre returns in 2014 with a comeback album almost twenty years in the making. I admit I never listened to these guys back in the '90's, but I've been giving them a lot of attention leading up to this new release. Their debut, “From Beyond,” is a bit of a historic stand-alone, the one death metal album that the band formerly known as 4/5 of Death put out after Chuck shuffled his line-up following“Leprosy,” and again after “Spiritual Healing.” Rick Rozz, Terry Butler, Kam Lee, and Bill Andrews did this album, then a pretty good EP a year later called “Inhuman Condition,” then (as I've recently learned) recorded one of the most hated metal albums ever, 1996's “Promise.” It seems that people absolutely despise that album, which really isn't very good.Finally, Rick Rozz and Terry Butler have decided to, at the very least, replace “Promise” as the lasting legacy of Massacre. “Back From Beyond” finds them thrashing it out like it was 1991 all over again, playing a powerful blend of old-school Florida death metal and thrash. Fans of “From Beyond” will be disappointed not to hear Kam Lee's vocals, but his replacement, Ed Webb, is an acceptable death metal vocalist, with a mixture of highs, lows, screeches, and growls. The drums and bass are meaty, the guitar tone is thick, and it's basically an average to above-average standard death metal album. It doesn't quite reach the level of today's best in the genre like Cannibal Corpse, Hail of Bullets, or Deicide, but it's on par with Malevolent Creation, and surely better than Morbid Angel's recent techno-death outing. Even if not a masterpiece, it will leave Massacre fans with a much better taste in their mouths than “Promise.”

You ever listen to an album and think of all the ways you could have made it better? Like change the riffs here, change the tempo there, draw out this solo here, etc.......... It's frustrating when you are trying to enjoy and album and keep thinking about how they could have done a better job. I wanted to like this album more than I do, but I can't. It's too long and filled with boring riffs. The first track, As We Wait to Die, is excellent, it just crushes. I really hoped the rest of the album would be like it, but sadly it's not. Id' say the first two tracks, and Back from Beyond are the stand out tracks - most everything else on the album feels generic and uninspired. Bland riffs, boring songs. The production on the album is top-shelf, the drumming is brutal and Ed Webb sounds like a monster - like a mix between Corpsegrinder and Kyle Simmons. However, killer drumming, beastly vocals and top shelf production can only do so much to hide the bland boring uninspired riffs and lackluster songwriting. As a previous reviewer stated, this album does sound a lot like Malevolent Creation's Will to Kill, only boring.The only songs I really liked on this album are the first two, they should have crafted the album off those songs, cut out about a third of the other tracks, and re-recorded some songs off of From Beyond. But that's just my opinion.

Just got this in the mail the other day and must say it kicks ass and is heavy as hell. I just picked up Massacre's older albums a couple months ago in anticipation of this new release because I missed them back in the day at first release. This new release is IMO just as good as the old stuff.

great!!!!

This is old-school Florida Death Metal at its best!Even though it's not the original lineup, I think it's the ideal one. New members Ed Webb and Mike Mazzonetto are true beasts!Highlights: "Back From Beyond" (check out its music video), "False Revelation", "Sands Of Time" and "Succumb To Rapture".

Excelent

Excellent. Triumphant return of Death Metal legends. Strong songs, great riffs. Awesome!!!!!

A killer album . Very brutal

Amazing quality c.d.