The Finnish melodic death metal band Beyond The Hate is set to release an anticipated debut album Darkest Times on March 8th 2024 via Inverse Records.
“The idea for the lyrics of the song was born when I was in a cabin in Finnish Lapland, thinking how wonderful a place it is for a person to be and why not to die. The song is not suicidal at all, and doesn’t contain a drop of self-pity. Rather, it is an honest, raw statement that this is where I will spend my time and I may not always have a partner with me.” says vocalist Niko Kalinainen
Bass player Mikko Monto states:
“The bass riff in the intro of the song was a long time in the making process with the band and producer, and finally we got the right vibe to get the song off to a good start with the guitars. The interludes are also nice to play live and bring good variety to the song in addition with the beautiful slow end. I think the story is about how most of us do indeed die alone, with a lot of darkness, pain and death along the path of life. The song is also accompanied by a nice music video, directed and edited by Juha Sihtola of MadCamProduction. The video was shot in the Black Bear Hall in Kerava and in the beautiful forest and seaside scenery of Finland.”
Drummer Tommy Uhtio tells:
“In our band we truly like powerful double kick drum sixteenth note single strokes. I think it is a repeating element in our songs and kind of a signature feature in Beyond the Hate’s music. The song “Alone I Die” is no exception to this. The verse is double bass driven heavy beat. Originally also the chorus was entirely double bass but during the drum recordings we felt that something was off. We change the chorus so that for the first four bars are basic drum beat and the following four bars are then again with the double bass drum pattern. This change really made a difference to the rhythm, dynamics and the groove of the song.”
Beyond The Hate’s beginnings date back to the summer of 2016, when guitarist Kimmo Perälehto and bassist Mikko Monto started writing songs together. Second guitarist Jyrki Karhu joined in early autumn and singer Niko Kalinainen in late 2016. The band was officially founded in 2017, when Tommy Uhtio took over the drumming duties and the first practice sessions were held.
In the beginning, the band’s songs were more straightforward metal but in late 2018, the band started to find their musical direction in melodic death metalsuch, as an good example the single “This Cold Morning” was released in 2019. In 2018 and 2019, the band participated in the Emergenza Finland band competitions, reaching the finals at the both times.
The first taste of the new style came with the 2020 EP “Betrayal Of Time”, which received good reviews and created expectations for the band’s future. – Miika Manninen / Metalliluola 2020: “Beyond the Hate’s name is worth remembering for the future, because you can expect a lot from the next release.”. – The band also participated in the 2022 Tuska-Torstai competition, reaching the semi-finals.
After the songs on the EP, the band focused on writing even more atmospheric and melancholic songs. More orchestral and choir elements were added to the songs, as well as acoustic guitar playing to create a new melodic mood. From this creative process came the twelve-track debut album “Darkest Times”, which will be released in March 2024 via Inverse Records. The album will also feature guest vocalists Katri Hiovain-Asikainen from Numento on “Black Within” and Jaakko Mäntymaa from Marianas Rest on “In Memoriam”.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.