Lurking Fantasia

Let me start by saying this demo is hard as hell to find, but it's well worth it for the BT fan. Rather than just the unproduced or unrefined songs you might expect from a demo CD, what you get is 40 minutes of mostly "new" material. If you're familiar with the earlier incarnation of the band simply known as "Twilight," the sound here is pretty logical: about halfway between that and the later works. It's more straightforward than BT's proper albums, but you can hear the transition taking place. There is a predominantly dark atmosphere, but also a bit more of the schizophrenic happy parts they sometimes would employ later on. What makes this a little different is the way the atmosphere is created. While "The Devil's Hall of Fame" is based on slow, dense doom metal tendencies, and "Section X" and "For the Love of Art" cranked up the horror movie aesthetic, "Lurking Fantasia" sounds a lot more electronic. The lead and ambient keyboard sounds are usually synthetic rather than symphonic, and Finn Zierler plays little leads and small details all over the place. Certain parts even sound prog-rock, like old Genesis or Happy the Man. Maybe it was a budget decision, but it's something different anyway.

Aside from Zierler, it's not entirely clear who plays on these songs - there are different vocalists on different tracks, all of them good (well, Eyes is kind of annoying,) but lacking the personality of Jorn Lande or Kelly Carpenter. Micke Därth plays the guitar, and I find his lead work to be better than Anders Kragh actually. I think the drums might be programmed, but if so, they're done well enough to leave me in doubt. Overall, the songwriting is the star.

The demo sounds pretty good, obviously not as well-produced or mixed as the real ones, but you can tell they knew what they were doing and put in the effort. Not all that shiny, but perfectly listenable.

As far as the actual songs go, they're a pleasant surprise. "Rage" is the most aggressive track, although it does so in a sophisticated sort of way, playing with tension and release. Worth noting are a couple ideas that would be used six years later in "Shadow Self," a song nothing like this one. On the other end of the spectrum, "Jewels in the Dark" is basically a straight ballad, though not like the legendary "Crying" off of TDHOF. Rather, it's creepy and sinister, based more on atmosphere than hooks. The other tracks run the gamut from zany to dark and epic, often alternating back and forth in quick succession. "Eyes" and "Carousel" are probably too jarring, but have their moments. "Lurking Fantasia" succeeds totally at blending these elements - a huge ambitious song, and the highlight of the demo. Closing out the tracklist, "Requiem" is a less-developed demo version of TDHOF's "Perfect Dark," and unfortunately pretty useless as a result.

Let's be honest, there's pretty much 0% chance that this is your first exposure to Beyond Twilight. If you're interested in Lurking Fantasia, you're a big fan of the band. From that standpoint, the demo is really more like an EP - it's certainly better and more replayable than the average demo, and people who track it down now are probably looking for something extra after the full albums. In that sense it's definitely worth owning. Although not quite as demented or brilliant as what was to come, Lurking Fantasia is an enjoyable listen for sure and already shows signs of genius. Get it if you can.