After 8 years, Eugen Dodenhoeft is back with the next installment in the solo project Far Beyond, an interesting amalgamation of symphonic, death, and black metal.
Eugen Dodenhoeft and his solo project Far Beyond has released three albums over the last 19 years, An Angel’s Requiem (2005), ), A Frozen Flame of Ice (2016), and now, The End of My Road (2024). For the new album Patrick Stäudle handled the mixing and mastering.
Solo projects are definitely ambitious to say the least, and one that involves ambient, symphonic, and orchestral elements blended into melodic death/black metal takes that to another level. The End of My Road is the first I’ve heard of Far Beyond, but taking a quick look back over the last nearly 20 years, the overall style and approach to songwriting seems fairly consistent, so long time listeners to Far Beyond won’t be surprised with this release.
In general, when not an intro or transition track, the songs on The End of My Road are long with all over 8 minutes, which may or may not be a surprise but given the genre, the length seems expected. The two minute intro track “Midwinter” is largely keyboard and orchestral element driven and does set the stage for the rest of the album as it blends seamlessly into “A Symphony of Light”. Here is where the black/death vocals come in, often backed by a clean choral section. The overall timber of the vocals, especially the clean ones, fits very well within what one would expect from goth music and that resonates well with me. The harsh vocals are close to black metal and the combination with keyboards and orchestral elements brings up comparisons to bands like Antestor, and perhaps even ambient black metal like Vials of Wrath. I will say I was a bit surprised by the guitar solos in the track, but in a pleasant way. The galloping rhythm of the track works very well even if the keyboards are a bit too present in the mix for my liking.
“Ad Infinitas” follows, and is another mood-setting transition instrumental. The choir voices do give that air of expectation and the transition into “Tempus Fugit” (Time Flies) is seamless. “Tempus Fugit” starts as an extension of the previous track but diverges a bit when the harsh vocals come in as that coincides with some heavier guitar riffs coming to the forefront. Despite the harsh vocals, the sometimes soaring choir-like vocals add a sense of light in the darkness.
“A Wish Upon A Star” is the longest of the transition tracks and sets up the last two songs on the album, “From the Stars and the Crescent Moon” and the title track “The End of My Road”. “From the Stars and the Crescent Moon” opens up with a fast guitar riff accented by the choir vocals which come across as a bit too dominant in the mix, somewhat drowning out the guitars. Vocals in general in the album are too loud in the mix for my liking and for me, take away from the overall strength of the songs as there is some really interesting guitar work. “The End of My Road” closes out the album and has an extended intro section that is almost like a separate track. The quieter melodic intro eventually is joined by the heavier guitars and the song moves on from there. Keyboards still dominate the overall sound, but there some good guitar parts and the song in general has a good sense of melody.
The End of My Road certainly presents a novel mix of black, death, goth, and symphonic metal. While I am not a fan of the mix and production that in general minimized the guitars, the songs and performances are strong and the I think the goth influences and sense of melody really make this album an enjoyable and approachable listen.
Rating: 8/10
Written by John Jackson
Tracklist
- Midwinter
- A Symphony of Light
- Ad Infinitas
- Tempus Fugit
- A Wish Upon A Star
- From the Stars and the Crescent Moon
- The End of My Road
Band Members
Eugen Dodenhoeft –all music, vocals
Release Date: February 16, 2024
Record label: Prosthetic Records
Social Media: Bandcamp / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter/X
Video for “From the Stars and the Crescent Moon”: