For those of you who didn't know Joacim Cans is the lead singer in the Swedish metal heroes Hammerfall, and 'Beyond The Gates' is his debut solo album. In creating this album Cans has put together a line up that boasts a very heavy metal heritage indeed, including Hammerfall colleague Stefan Elmgren on guitar, along with the former Halford guitarist Metal Mike Chlasciak, Primal Fear bassist Mat Sinner and Fates Warning drummer Mark Zonder. The big question is can (if you will excuse the pun) 'Beyond The Gates' live up to the reputation and talents of the people involved...

Album opener 'Fields Of Yesterday'  kicks off in grand style with dark, almost savage guitars, backed up by the strategic use of simple keyboard flourishes. The song bears a sonic resemblance to solo work by Bruce Dickinson and Rob Halford and the production borrows heavily from work by Roy Z in the sound quality in delivers. Second song in 'Soul Collector' moves in the same direction, which given the fact it is a co-write with Chlasciak is not surprising. The use of backing vocals in the chorus is perhaps a little overdone, but the vocal melody in the verses is indeed excellent.

Next up comes 'Red Light' the chorus to this song is perhaps the most catchy so far and again the guitars rip through the song with measured aggression and a deep heavy sound. The guitar solo is well played and not as over the top as some bands in this genre tend to go for. 'Back To Hell' ups the tempo and sounds even more like Halford/Priest than the previous efforts. This is probably the most aggressive and out right heavy song on the album. The solo sees the tempo change to a grinding chug before the double kick drums re-enter the fray and the pace increases as the song heads to its conclusion.

The title track 'Beyond The Gates' is next up and starts off slow and mellow employing subtle acoustic and harmony guitars.  The track has an epic feel about it especially as the heaviness factor is dialled up and the song goes through numerous time and tempo changes with guitar riffs spat out from all directions. As with 'Soul Collector' the song makes use of a gang backing vocal style that is not to my liking, however this is a minor fault.

'The Key' exudes a quiet strength and anger in an understated way and for once the chorus makes good use of harmony vocals as Cans is backed by what sounds like a choir. The short guitar solo shows a fine degree of finesse, all in all an excellent song. Track 7, 'Garden Of Evil' follows the same pattern as the previous song in as much that is not as out and out heavy. Up to this point it is probably the weakest song on offer, although the guitar solo redeems a weaker vocal melody with a short melodic passage followed by a quicker flurry of notes that leads back into the chorus.

'Merciless' is a relatively short simple song that builds upon a fine guitar riff to produce a memorable effort. The chorus is straightforward and catchy and the guitar solo once again does not overshadow the song as a whole. 'Silent Cries' is a more direct song that raises the heaviness stakes again as the guitar riffs and drums are spat out throughout the verses.

'Dreams' is a keyboard led song that is reminiscent of American stadium rock in the 1980's. This is especially obvious in the second verse with the use of the keyboards behind the vocals and the simple bass line. The chorus is the most catchy on the record, whilst the guitar solo also has a very 80's feel to it. For some reason I kept thinking of early Bon Jovi from their debut album when listening to this track. Not such a bad thing but generally out of keeping with the rest of the album.

'Signs' returns to the true origins of this album with the Priest/Halford leanings in evidence again. However the album ends on a very different note with the ballad 'Forever Ends' and it is without doubt both out of place and not up to the standard of the remainder of the tracks. can you say cheese...

Overall, and discounting 'Forever Ends' this album came as a very pleasant surprise. The songs are generally well constructed and executed, helped by a sympathetic production that allows the heaviness of the majority of the titles to come through without sounding muddy and overbearing. The drums and bass lock together well to form a solid foundation for the guitar playing to sit atop. The guitars parts themselves are of the highest order with no out and out shredding for the sake of it, but both rhythm and lead parts being employed to the overall benefit of the songs. The vocals themselves are also of a high standard and whilst the majority of the lyrics deal with the staple metal diet of heaven, hell, death etc they are well written and unlike many records in this genre are not in the least cringe worthy.

Take out 'Forever Ends' and this album would probably score a good 8-8.5/10 however the inclusion of this song alone costs the CD 1 mark. This is definitely a recommended listen but skip the last song and you will be even happier. 

Let us know your views on 'Beyond The Gates'

Track List

Fields Of Yesterday
Soul Collector
Red Light
Back To Hell
Beyond The Gates
The Key
Garden Of Evil
Merciless
Silent Cries
Dreams
Signs
Forever Ends

Line Up

Joacim Cans - Lead Vocals
Mike Chlasciak - Guitar
Stefan Elmgren - Guitars
Mat Sinner - Bass
Mark Zonder - Drums
Daniele Soravia - Keyboards