ALBUM REVIEW: Sentence – Beyond The Styx

France’s BEYOND THE STYX have been plugging away with their beefed-up brand of metallic hardcore for over a decade now. Theirs may not be the most innovative take on the genre, but it’s still done more than enough to get heads banging and pits spinning across Europe, including on tours with respected names like TERROR and MALEVOLENCE among others. Sentence is their third full-length album – a reasonably overdue follow-up to 2018’s Stiigma LP. Like its predecessor, it’s a record of potent, focused aggression, one that shows little interest in reinventing the wheel. If you like hardcore that’s as hard as nails with limited frills or fancies, this is the one for you.

Musically, BEYOND THE STYX deal in pretty much all of hardcore’s usual suspects over Sentence’s ten tracks. Most of these land around the two to three-minute mark, with the primary focus on complete and total destruction. Opener DC starts with one of the record’s only real moments of quiet before launching headlong into pummelling double kicks and blistering thrash-tinged riffing. A breakdown soon follows, and if you didn’t know what to expect from BEYOND THE STYX beforehand, you do now. There isn’t much deviation from here, with the band walking a fine line between breakneck crossover thrashing and slower, nastier beatdowns for practically all of the record to follow. They’re pretty adept at both sides of the equation, as proven well by the album’s punishing fifth track Self Hatred.

There’s something of a balance in BEYOND THE STYX’s lyrics too, with vocalist Emile Duputié’s despair-filled bark reflecting on both personal struggles with concepts like isolation and self-loathing, as well as broader global and political issues. Third track New World Disorder is a prime example of the latter, this one railing against the dehumanisation of refugees. Much like the music, its approach is blunt yet effective, with gang vocals declaring “Man before borders!” over the band’s typically chug-heavy riffing.

While it would surely benefit from a little more variation, Sentence never really fails to land its punches. The album’s later pairing of Overload and Scorch AD provides a second half high-point in particular. Both tracks deliver big-time on the riffs and breakdowns, with the latter’s force accentuated further still by another of the record’s fleeting moments of respite, as well as a short burst of lightning fast lead guitar work. It’s clear too that BEYOND THE STYX have undergone something of a production tool-up in the years since Stiigma. This album hits with far more weight than its predecessor, its crisp production lending the band all the beef they need to deliver their most crushing blows.

As all records like it should, Sentence clocks in at pretty much bang on half an hour. It’s a good call, one that ensures the potency of the band’s attack never wears thin. Ultimately, this album probably won’t change many opinions when it comes to hardcore, but it’s also hard to imagine those already on board having any real issues with it. This is rock solid mosh-fuel made stronger still by the band’s defiant, determined and politically outspoken attitude. What’s not to like?

Rating: 7/10

Sentence is set for release on February 4th via WTF Records/Diorama Records.

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