Well, this is a surprise. I didn't realise that BEYOND THE PALE is a searing attack of Thrash and Melodic Death Metal band from Utrecht, a city in my native country The Netherlands. Having been around for some six years now, I haven't encountered them live before, not have I had the opportunity to listen to their first two singles ("Storm En Drift" dated 2021 and "The Age Of Pariah" from 2024) or their 2024 EP "Monument In Time". As it stands, I don't really have to anymore, as the album I'm about to review is a compilation of those releases. It therefore is quite fitting that it has taken the name of the EP, as all five original songs are featured on this rendition of "Monument In Time". And that is quite remarkable, as they have had their share of tragedy. The EPK states: Forged in the confusion and anxiety of the global pandemic in 2020 and then tempered in the flames of tragedy and the cold ice of loss when their friend and founding member, Jeroen van Donselaar, collapsed on stage in 2022, struck down by a fatal cardiac arrest.

The band decided to soldier on, take the foundations that were forged and build on them for the future. As for the kind of Death Metal that you can expect from BEYOND THE PALE, it is quite simple, straight forward and doesn't do with a lot of difficult breaks, weird riffs or unexpected turns. Which only means that the description of a searing attack of Thrash and Melodic Death Metal is quite accurate. Nope, this is as straight as an arrow, and not bad at all. I do believe that for the die hard Death Metallers the voice of Janneke de Rooy might take some adjusting to. She does live and shout in the higher regions, making her vocals sound a little more Black Metal orientated than Death Metal. On the other hand, it is a trait that is unique to BEYOND THE PALE, making this "Monument In Time" have an identity of its own. I also like the fact that not only you will find that the two versions of "Storm En Drift" are in Dutch, but also that there is some much lower grunting going on halfway through the song. It does give the track an extra dimension.

As a whole I feel that if you are a Death Metal enthusiast, but haven't heard BEYOND THE PALE before, you should really give them a listen. I have a feeling that you will be positively surprised by how mature and well-founded the music on "Monument In Time" sounds.