BEYOND FEAR – “Beyond Fear” (2006) Album Review

SUMMARY

LINEUP

Tim ‘Ripper’ Owens (vocals), John Comprix (guitars), Dwane Bihary (guitars), Dennis Hayes (bass), Eric Elkins (drums)

IN SHORT

Formed as a side-project in 2005, Tim “Ripper” Owens created BEYOND FEAR to satisfy his desire to write music – something he was unable to do in his ventures with JUDAS PRIEST and ICED EARTH. To date, BEYOND FEAR has only released one album, their self-titled debut in 2006, but have never officially disbanded. At the time of it’s release, the album came and went without much fanfare. This is unfortunate, as Owen’s vocal talents have put him on many all-time best metal vocalist lists. Owens is at the top of his vocal game on Beyond Fear and the album feels like a direct extension of his time in JUDAS PRIEST, but with more grit. Even some of the lyrics are reminiscent of something Rob Halford would write in JUDAS PRIEST (see “Scream Machine”).

The problem that plagued the album at it’s release (and remains an issue today) are its simple formula and lackluster lyrics. The songs are consistently fun and head bang worthy, but basic. Beyond Fear is like the peanut butter and jelly sandwich of metal. It gets the job done, and is relatively satisfying, but far from innovative. Most songs use the common NWOBHM tactic of recycling a song’s verse for the bridge and solo, changing only the octave. It’s a well-established formula but not exactly a fresh take. In addition, the album rarely strays from an intro-verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-solo type structure. The writing lends to some of the songs blending together but still do the job well enough to entertain metal fans. The lyrics are another story all-together. Where the music is well-done, if not safe, the lyrics approach cringe territory.

In all, don’t expect Beyond Fear to blow you away. However, it is solid classic heavy metal and will certainly scratch your metal itch. The album is worth a listen for Owens’ vocal abilities alone, just don’t pay too much attention to what he’s singing.

IN DEPTH

The album opener, titled “Scream Machine” is like a sequel to JUDAS PRIEST’s “Painkiller”. It’s fast and heavy and Tim Owens’ soaring vocals match that of Rob Halford. Even the lyrics seem to be Owen’s attempt to replicate Halford’s writing style, though it comes off as a cheap imitation at times. The musicians tapped to lay down the guitar and drum tracks are consistent and do their jobs flawlessly. This track is some quality speed metal, just not super original. It is also the first of several tracks on the album to feature NWOBHM writing techniques. That said,  “Scream Machine” is destined to be the bands most popular and well-known track.

The band follows the heavy opener with another heavy track. “And…You Will Die” slows down the tempo and is a frenzy of chugging riffs. The track showcases more of Owens’ vocal range than the ear-piercing opener but the lyrics continue to lack substance. “And…You Will Die” will inspire to raise your metal horns in appreciation, but if you focus too much on the content of Owen’s vocals, you may be tended to lower your horns quietly.

 “Save Me”, the albums third track, features more chugging riffs and slow tempos. I appreciate the arrangement of the verse building force before spilling into the chorus. Owens howling ‘save me’ during the chorus is the highlight of the song. The bridge leading into the solo also has a groove metal sound to it but continues the use of the NWOBHM technique I mentioned in the introduction. “Save Me” is a very cookie cutter track, but I can’t help liking it anyway. The band does the song so well and Owens’ vocals are so epic that it is  worth overlooking the simplicity.

 “The Human Race” is arguably the most cohesive track on the album. It has some of the best guitar playing on the album from John Comprix and Dwane Bihary. The song flows well from section to section, the double bass is killer and even has a full-on breakdown that leads into the solo. It’s pretty awesome. Four songs into the album, however, the band seems to only have two speeds: fast-paced double bass or slow-chugging riffs.

Up fifth, “Coming At You” is the perfect example of everything wrong with Beyond Fear. First, it includes an intro that directly states the song title (something done far too often on the album). Second, it has terrible lyrics. How many times can you repeat “do you see it, it’s coming at you”? Even the riffing is cliché on “Coming At You”. Legitimately, the only redeeming part of the song is Owens outstanding vocals.

The sixth track on Beyond Fear, “Dreams Come True”, opens with a section of acoustic guitars and looks to be more dynamic than any prior song. Then, the song goes virtually nowhere. Owens vocals are great as always, but the lyrics continue to really lack. I feel like I wrote lyrics at the same level back in elementary school. I’ll send you samples if you want proof. Any emotional heft the song attempts to produce is lost from the lyrics. “I see myself, flying high, in the sky, I’m in the clouds, way up so high”. Yikes. Ultimately, “Dreams Come True is a somewhat boring attempt to create dynamic ballad.

“Telling Lies” brings the band back to its strengths: double bass, chugging riffs, soaring vocals, and a brutal chorus. The riffs are fun, and it’s easy to bob your head with the beats. The chorus is my favorite on the entire album and “Telling Lies” features yet another breakdown. As the theme goes for the album, it is not innovative but a hell of a solid metal track.

The album continues the train of chug-a-lug riffs with “I Don’t Need This” but the song misses the mark for me. It feels repetitive, derivative of other tracks on Beyond Fear and blends into the background. On an album where the music succeeds more often than it does not, “I Don’t Need This” is in the latter category.

When we get to the ninth track of Beyond Fear, we also hit my favorite song on the album “Words of Wisdom” has a lot of bests: best riff, best drumming (Eric Elkins is in beast mode), best song arrangement. The song still doesn’t stray from the structure the rest of the album takes but the band just does it better here. If more songs on the album had sounded as inspired and in-your-face as “Words of Wisdom”, Beyond Fear would likely be more fondly remembered.

“My Last Words” cannot decide if it wants to be a ballad or if it wants to be an IRON MAIDEN look-a-like. What comes out the other side is a sappy, vague, and confusing story that is difficult for the listener to follow and impossible to relate to. Is the narrator in the song about to die in a plane crash? Maybe. The lyrics and music are equally murky on “My Last Words”, and it isn’t worth much more than a listen.

The albums eleventh track, “Your Time Has Come”, should have been the album closer. It is a close to epic as Beyond Fear gets. The riffage is solid, the chorus is memorable (be prepared for it to get stuck in your head), and the bridge breaks the structure used by the other tracks. The song begins heavy and slowly drifts into a soft melody at the end with some great harmonizing guitar work. The section where Owens screams “please tell me, tell me please. I just want to know the answer” gives me goosebumps. “Your Time Has Come” is one of the highlights to come out of Beyond Fear.

The album closer “The Faith” has a promising, industrial metal inspired opening but quickly becomes disjointed and uninteresting. The track sounds like the band took scrap riffs that hadn’t been used  and stuck them together. The track also incorporates more pop elements and a “toe-tapping” tempo, which further separates it from the rest of the album. “The Faith” doesn’t really fit and would have been better left off the final product.

CONCLUSION

To conclude, Tim “Ripper” Owens vocal abilities are undeniably brilliant. His songwriting, on the other hand, is a bit questionable at times. Beyond Fear presents amazing vocals, solid musicianship, and a lot of chugging riffs. It is a great album to throw on in the background when you are working or doing chores. However, it’s lack of creativity and poor lyrics will forever trap Beyond Fear in the category of an OK metal album. Fans of the genre, and followers of Tim Owens, will find plenty to enjoy on Beyond Fear but, as time has proven, it will never gain a huge legion of followers. Is it worth your time? Absolutely! Is it worth your undivided attention? Not so much.

HIGHLIGHTS

“Scream Machine”, “Words of Wisdom”, “Your Time Has Come”