Black Sites in Lower Chambers is the newest EP from Philadelphia Pennsylvania black/death metal band Wild Beyond. This album delves deep into the darkest depths of the human psyche with anguished vocals, tortured lyrics, and brooding riffs. It's the perfect black metal offering from the first track to the last. The introductory track of this EP, Dream State Abductions, is a very brooding instrumental track laced with violins, horns, and synths which create a dark, dream-like atmosphere surrounding the song and the rest of the album. Right away you're drenched with dread and sorrow, something that permeates throughout the entire run time. Slaughtering the Lion is a standout track on the album. Guitars squeal with groovy riffs which draw inspiration from thrash metal, yet still retains the same darkness that black metal usually contains. The drumming grooves on this song are incredible as well, as is the gravely voice of the vocalist, Edward Gonet III. This track bleeds directly into the third offering of this EP, Thy Entrance, night, which again opens with a very groovy and almost upbeat riffs before plunging you back into the dark abyss once the vocals come on. It's a very interesting combination of genres if you ask me. You got the down tuned guitars and the depressing lyrics presented in black metal combined with the styles of thrash metal. There's even a guitar solo in this song which I was very impressed by; I'm not normally the black metal guy, but I'd be lying if I said this album wasn't good. It is.

Visions Before the Seizures begins with a very sad electric guitar cord being strung, layered along with the sounds from a synth and a keyboard being played. The song quiets after that before the riffs kick the song into high gear. The song has a good rhythm and a good beat to it, but I wasn't necessarily a fan of the vocals on this one. The instrumentation, though? Fantastic! I can imagine this band would be very good live. The cacophony of sound on this track, from the opening keyboards, to the drumming, and the frenetically strummed riffs, even the lyrics, is very apocalyptic. The final song on this EP, Spellbound (By the Devil) has a vey unique opening. It kicks off with the loud riffs and drumming, but before the vocals penetrate your ears, the sounds of a shouting crowd can be heard layered beneath the excellent tumultuous instrumentation. This song delivers a chaotic wall of sound that sweeps over the listener - from the gravelly screams of the vocalist, to the loud, screaming guitars, this track has everything you'd want out of a metal song. Once the fast paced beginning fades it begins to get slower and doom begins to set in upon the listener.

Overall, this album was pretty good. I liked the mix of influences from the thrash metal elements to the keyboard elements which added an extra level of depth to this black metal album. I'd definitely recommend it to people who like death metal or black metal.