Review by Adam M on March 30, 2013.

A new Omnium Gatherum album is something to not take lightly. This new album "Beyond" has a lot of pristine melodies and wonderful chorus lines. The push for a more streamlined sound has continued from the last release. This is a good thing for some listeners, but the transition album "New World Shadows" remains a favourite of mine from the band.

'New Dynamic' is a thrilling start, but the remainder of the album hits a marginally less number of highs than the predecessor. Atmosphere is still of utmost importance, as heard from the beginning of 'Nightwalkers', for example. The homage to Dan Swano is apparent, but this album is really like the "Crimson II" to "Crimson". The comparison works well because those albums are both excellent, but the predecessor is the best one by a small margin in both cases. The “epic” aspect of the aforementioned Edge Of Sanity outfit is mirrored by the recent vibe of Omnium Gatherum albums and they can fill in the void well for any bands these days. The introduction to 'Formidable' assures that there is a continuity that is similar to albums by Edge Of Sanity.

In terms of quality Melodic Death Metal, I still believe Omnium Gatherum, Insomnium and Bel’akor have a nice hold over the genre. Add in Nightrage as an honorable mention and this genre has all the necessary bases covered for the future.

This album holds my attention throughout with a number of memorable moments, but there are a few more on "New World Shadows", which I think is the defining album for the band. Fans of Omnium Gatherum should pick "Beyond" up without hesitation though.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 9.5
Atmosphere: 9.5
Originality: 7.1
Production: 8.5
Overall: 8.5

Rating: 8.3 out of 10