21st July 2024

Review: “Life Cycles” by Beyond All Hope

In 2021 Jake Murphy made the decision to get back into music and started Beyond All Hope as a way to release some negative energy and address personal struggles. Collaborating with Producer Tyler Ruehl, who handled all mixing, mastering, and production, the project then evolved to feature contributions from drummer Eliot Post, guitarist Shaheen Abubshait and guest vocalists Taylor Barber of Left To Suffer and Sean Labru of Decayer. The journey saw the release of a pair of singles in February and March 2022 respectively with the duo at the core finding a heavy sound but not being afraid to test the waters of several sub-genres.

A lyrical narrative about a battle with alcoholism is given wings with DJent fuelled staccato riff breaks and distinctive Deathcore vibes as “Waste Away” takes to flight. The track slaps harder than a woman scorned while having plenty of bounce, the intensity of the lyrics matched by Murphy’s fierce vocal performance. They have an emotive quality to them which resonates as you can hear the grit and integrity of having been through the situation and survived to tell the tale. After that moment of brutal catharsis, Sean Labru of Decayer and guitarist Shaheen Abubshait are tag teamed in for “Ghost“, a cut which was inspired by a traumatic crime scene clean-up experience and the loss of a close friend. A shade heavier with deeper grooves and rhythmic battery that ploughs a furrow in the cranium, this one has foreboding atmospherics with some programmed drums and an almost Slam vocal moment at the end. The themes are so dark you need a flashlight to find your way out after listening to “Life Cycles“; there are no moments of respite or chinks of light through the dark clouds. Instead it’s all pulverising rhythms from calloused hands and blackened minds. You can feel the rage building as the violent turbulence throws you around like a leaf in a hurricane.

Murphy’s vocals are dry and raspy for the most part but on “Enemy” he introduces a shriller tone for the underpinning backing vocals which gives the impression of a second vocalist because its so different. Another heavy hitter that scores a home run with dirge laden riffs that drag the lake and swirling dark atmospheres, it’s both skull crushing and soul destroying at the same time as your heart bleeds for Murphy as he battles with anxiety and depression. Shifting the narrative, a defiant anthem about escaping having others beliefs imposed on you “Force Fed” takes things down another path without straying too far from the core sound. Mid tempo chugged riffs feel inspired by the darker side of 90’s Nu-Metal before an almost Beatdown Deathcore moment at the end cracks the formula. A track about opening your eyes to the toxic influences in your life and cutting them out finds Taylor Barber of Left To Suffer joining the party and by this point you know exactly what’s going to happen with “Truth Bomb“. Another vent of pure catharsis packed down with DJent riffs which have an eerie soundscape behind them, it’s a stone cold winner that feels like the lyrical equivalent of a gritty true crime drama [7/10]

Track Listing