Far Beyond the Afterlife

Here we have Heavenshore, a rather short-lived epic death-doom project from Barcelona, Spain. With their sole release, Far Beyond The Afterlife, we get a glimpse into an epic odyssey of sorrow, blending the styles of epic doom and death-doom for a truly evocative experience.

The instrumentation on this release is impeccable, every instrument in sync with the other to create a grandiose harmony that makes you feel like you’re trudging through the River Styx, as seen on the intro track “Meaningless Creation” (we’ll get into this track more later). This sound can equally turn menacing and imposing, as seen with the intro of “Abyss of the Void”, welcoming us with some amazing death growls harmonized with some clean vocals alongside them, trading off of each other. This track is uniquely intimidating and uncompromising in its intensity, however equally melodic and grandiose, as one would expect out of a hybridization of epic doom and death-doom, the two most well-known subgenres of doom metal. Heavenshore is a master of emotion, perfectly captivating the feeling of loss and sorrow with outro track “Godsend”, the instrumentation and vocals combine to make you feel as if you yourself were trapped inside the tumultuous grasp of the grieving process.

However, Far Beyond The Afterlife is not without its flaws, notably in the vocals department. The death growls and low/mid-range registers are perfect, however it sorely lacks in the higher ranges, coming off a bit strained, notably present within the track “Meaningless Creation” and “Where Souls Reach Their Meaning” (more towards the end), however they are used rather sparingly which is fortunate.

In conclusion, Far Beyond The Afterlife by Heavenshore is an amazing debut, overflowing with emotion and potential, though still with flaws to work out. Heavenshore have created a unique blend of epic, death and doom with this release and while the project may be inactive now, I look forward to whoever steps up to the plate next with this amazing blend of styles.

Highlight Tracks: “Abyss of the Void”, “Meaningless Creation”, “Godsend”