Search - Cans :: Beyond the Gates

Surprisingly Heavy!

MetalMarc | Grand Rapids, MI USA | 05/24/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have to admit I was not that exited about Jocaim Cans coming out with a solo album since I really am not into Hammerfall or other cheesy power metal of the like.
What convinced me to buy this however were many reviews I read saying that this album was much heavier and darker than Hammerfall and indeed they were right. Most importantly this album is not only heavier and darker but contains great songs from begining to end. I am really impressed with the quanity of great songs even towards the end of the album. My picks for the most killer tracks are the title track (At the Gates) and Merciless though almost every track is great. I read that Red Light was selected for a video which is ironically one of only a few weaker tracks on the album IMO.
The production on the album is just how I like too, heavy,thick,clear, and very modern sounding. I must also give much credit to the musicans that collaborated with Cans on this project to create these killer songs. There are some killer riffs and solos on this album that were much more than an afterthought and the drum and bass work are top notch too.
If you like bands like Angel Dust, Tad Morose, with some old Judas Priest influence you will love this album. I have gained some new respect for Jocaim Cans now that I know he appreciates metal that is actually heavy, but please Cans include pics of your other band members in your booklet this project was not just about you.
If you are looking for some great heavy (not power, not prog, not death) metal than this is for you. I know this will be one of my top 5 albums of the year. Beware Hammerfall fans, this one is heavy so you've been warned!"

Better than all Hammerfall discs combined !

Murat Batmaz | Istanbul, Turkey | 08/02/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"First of all, to be honest, I'm not a Hammerfall fan. I actually find them very boring and cheesy. I think they've never really evolved and improved as a band, but kept releasing lots of generic Euro power metal discs to the already oversatured genre. So I can't say I was psyched when I heard that Cans was going to release a solo album as I don't care for his voice that much. But when I heard the album was going to feature some of the most talented musicians around, I decided to give it a chance and I'm glad I did.



Besides Cans' bandmate from Hammerfall, Stefan Elmgren, playing some of the guitars, we also hear Mike Chlasciak of Halford and John West fame. Chlasciak is a great guitarist and his presence on this disc makes all the difference. Mat Sinner from Primal Fear is on bass and the drum work is handled by a personal favourite of mine: Mr Mark Zonder from Fates Warning. His playing on Beyond the Gates is nothing similar to his amazing work with Fates Warning or Chroma Key, but because this is primarily a solid heavy metal disc, I somehow didn't look for his polyrhythmic work or mindblowing cymbals.



Although Hammerfall's vocalist's solo album, Beyond the Gates holds some key differences to Cans' band. Musically there is more depth in the songcraft and the melodies are far from cheesy happy metal. Cans penned most of these songs when he was going through a bad time in his life and therefore the melodies and particularly the lyrics are a lot darker and the songs refrain from cheesy sing-along choruses. Cans hasn't written the entire album on his own though. Enter Annihilator axeman Jeff Waters giving his trademark sound to the ending track and David Chastain co-writing the title song. This is a great combination of great musicians and songwriting. As a result, the outcome is pure melodic metal with killer riffs and tight instrumentation. Most of the songs are between 4 and 5 minutes, never longer. The album does seem to lose a bit of its momentum towards the last third with the power ballads but that's acceptable as far as I'm concerned.



The first half of the disc is decidedly more energetic and less derivative than the second half. The album starts with heavy and pounding tracks with Joacim Cans' vocals sitting comfortably in the centre of the tracks. Cans however delivers the tunes with a lot of conviction and anger, therefore surprising me. It is a wonder to me why he is doing those constantly high-pitched power vocals in Hammerfall as opposed to employing some of his darker vocal stylings. It sure would add a lot of diversity to Hamerfall's vocal melodies.



I'd prefer this album over any Hammerfall CD, period. This is a quality heavy/power metal disc which should have direct appeal to any melodic metal fan that enjoys his metal heavy and merciless. The guitar solos coming from Chlasciak are needless to say top notch and Mark Zonder shines on these tracks as an awesome drummer. Beyond the Gates has been getting some really good feedback so far and somehow I don't think this will be the last disc we'll hear from Joacim Cans. And if his future releases are going to be as good as this one, they're certainly more than welcome. I see Force of Evil's self-titled disc is also recommended on this page and I fully agree with that. Make sure to give it a listen if you're into traditional heavy metal with a more aggressive singer."

Possibly better than HammerFall?!

Renegade | 04/20/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"this is a brilliant CD, i really love it, the guitar work by stefan is incredible, and of course joacim is brilliant as usual, this CD is better than Chapter V, and most of the other HF, a really good album, best tracks are;



Fields of yesterday - one of my favs, brilliant



soul collector - very good, one of my favs



dreams - excellent, and quite 80's



Beyond the Gates - the best song!, a truely cool song 11/10



buy this, it is also a bit more like heavy metal than powermetal at times, very good, very surprising!."