Far Beyond is the project of one man, Eugen Dodenhoeft, who is also one of the member in Euphoreon. Eugen does everything in Far Beyond, which is quite impressive when you listen to the final product. I discovered the band when Eugen wrote me about my Euphoreon review, and I was curious about his email domain name (@far-beyond.com). So being curious I just went to www.far-beyond.com and voila, another one page site a la Euphoreon, with the EP free to download.

Since Eugen did the drums tracks in Euphoreon, I suppose they are also made digitally in Far Beyond. But I must say that they are so well done they don't sound fake (or at least not enough to bother me) to me, or maybe I am able to tolerate drum boxes better than others. The EP Songs of Hope and Sorrow is a melpot of different styles, there is typical melodic metal, power metal elements, as well as some melodeath elements, mostly the vocals which remind me of Eternal Tears of Sorrow. What is clear is that Eugen knows about melody and sadness (or sorrow). The melodies present in these four songs are beautiful, yet sometimes dauntingly sad (like the intro guitar melody of Awake). The sorrow really emanates from the entire compositions, which are, in my opinion, masterful ! Four songs, three killers and a great song, Hope and Sorrow being the simplest of them and tad under the other three. They alternate fast and calm (slightly dominant), and the vocals on this EP are 70/30 on the clean/harsh vocals. What is certain is that Eugen is an accomplished artist, his clean vocals are beautiful, and his harsh vocals are quite good as well. The guitars are majestic, accomplishing some really sorrowful, crying melodies that could easily bring a tear to my eye depending on my mood.

The full album that came before this EP (An Angel's Requiem) is mostly melodic death metal and quite different, and I must say that I wish that more songs were made in this style, of calm, sad and melodic metal with the right dose of melodeath here and there (I find this balance really enticing and I truly wish for more of this !). I find the mix between calm and aggressive to be absolutely haunting and I understand where the calm breaks and intros from Euphoreon come from now ! It might not be for everyone, but people with affinities with both melodic metal and some melodeath should try Far Beyond (but I doubt pure melodeath fans will like it), and it's just a few clicks away too. It is our policy to not quote EPs but I since there is almost 27 minutes of material in those 4 songs, so I will quote it non the less (there are albums that clock at 30-35 minutes, so why the hell not :) ). I highly recommand you to check Eugen's Far Beyond ! I know I will be listening to this EP for years to come. I have to applaud (and thank) Eugen for this incredible EP, I wish there was a full length album with 10 songs in this style, it is such an interesting mix of different styles with such great song writing and mood. One of a kind, far beyond...