Review: “Black Sites In Lower Chambers” by Wild Beyond

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania might not be the first place you’d think of as a point of origin for a Black Metal band but that is the place that Wild Beyond call home. A power trio consisting of Deava and former Infernal Stronghold member Edward Gonet III on vocals and guitars alongside former Woe and Woods Of Ypres drummer Evan Madden and last but not least Jimmy Viola who provides bass, keyboards and additional guitars, they write in a dark yet intense style. Their unholy union gave rise to a self titled debut album in 2023 and now they return once again, this time with five fresh cuts mixed and mastered by Ryan Mulvanerty (Eternal Champion, Flesh Tomb, Weeping).

Instrumental “Dream State Abductions” serves as a Dungeon crawling style introduction piece that includes recordings of analog keyboards from the nineties by Jimmy Viola with esoteric overtones that offer a mysterious feel, falling somewhere between Science Fiction Horror and Supernatural. That opens the floor for the caustic vocals of  “Slaughtering The Lion” as Gonet spits blood and venom over riffs that bring Sadistic Force to mind. Madden gets crazy with some frenzied fills and in all honesty, it wouldn’t surprise if this was recorded live on the floor of the studio, such is the energy of the piece. Sliding into mid-tempo intensity with hints of influences from the likes of Immortal, “Thy Entrance, Night” has a dark, rich melody that’s as smooth as an expensive bean to cup coffee from your favourite roaster. Guitar layering is put to good use so we get some tasteful leads over the top of the pulsating rhythms, the old school drum sound the driving force behind it all. The bands love of 90’s Black Metal is once again exposed with “Visions Before The Seizure” which has an acoustic, dark Folk Metal introduction with haunting qualities before sliding into something of their usual destructive nature. A tale of chasing the dragon that is lyrically bleak but sonically surprisingly vibrant (in the Black Metal sense) has no business sounding this good. If you’d said it was a cut from one of the past genre masters, recorded in a Scandinavian crypt and issued on cassette tape in 1993 then honestly no one would be any the wiser. That’s because the track and indeed the whole record sounds timeless, the three piece skilfully avoiding the temptation to use anything modern for their cryptic writings. A cover of the Dimmu Borgir classic “Spellbound (By The Devil)” is the ideal way to finish this collection, Wild Beyond making it their own with nuances, the faux horror keyboards and quirky leads all part of the aesthetic [7.5/10]

Track Listing

1. Dream State Abductions (instrumental)
2. Slaughtering The Lion
3. Thy Entrance, Night
4. Visions Before The Seizure
5. Spellbound (By The Devil)

“Black Sites In Lower Chambers” by Wild Beyond is out 17th October 2025 via Fiadh Productions and is available over at bandcamp