Beyond the Gates

Cans | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 11, 2004)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Noise
• ASIN: B0001Z3HUO
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #268,657 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars solid album, May 13, 2004

By 

Big Dom "mikthemik" (Staten Island, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Beyond the Gates (Audio CD)

This is not an album i was particularly looking forward to or anything. Ibought it because i read it had been released so i decided to get myself a copy. Money well spent let me tell you. Joacim can really sing always awesome and always on. The main thing that will strike you about this album is that it is most definetly not Hammerfall which is both good and bad. Its bad because most peopel have a very clear musical path in mind when they think of Joacim's voice. Its awesome because the different musical contribitors to this album such as Mike Chlasciak, Steven Elmgren, Mat Sinner and Tom Nauman all leave they're marks on this album. if you're a fan of any of those guys bands including Hammerfall go get this. Joacim Cans does not disapoint.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Surprisingly Heavy!, May 24, 2004

By 

MetalMarc (Grand Rapids, MI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Beyond the Gates (Audio CD)

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!

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Better than all Hammerfall discs combined !, August 2, 2004

By 

Murat Batmaz (Istanbul, Turkey) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Beyond the Gates (Audio CD)

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.