BEYOND THE PILLARS (E)

James Byrd is one of the most distinguished guitarists in the symphonic metal genre. He left the band Fifth Angel in 1987 to embark on a solo career. Songwriting had already begun for the next album by Fifth Angel when Byrd decided to quit the band. He began working and writing songs with drummer Freddy Krumins (Denny Laine & Howard Leese) and seven of these songs appeared in a re-recorded version on the debut album by James Byrd's Atlantic Rising; the other recordings were forgotten until early 2011, when Krumins found the original master tapes. This resulted in Beyond The Pillars whis is filled with melodic rock music from a young American band playing in the vein of bands like Europe, Whitesnake and UFO among others. The fourteen original compositions by Byrd defining a new genre which is now called power metal. Although some of the songs can be considered to be AOR, others are more or less in the vein of the hard rock of bands like Black Sabbath and later Whitesnake. The ballad Waiting In The Shadows is vocally the most challenging track for Krumins while the keyboards provide a symphonic touch. The ballad Angel Of Mercy reminds me of the song Soldier Of Fortune ​by Deep Purple from the album Stormbringer and Krumins' vocals resemble the voice of David Coverdale pretty close. Stranger Of The Night could have been a song by Rainbow with Joe Lynn Turner just like the guitar-driven up-tempo track Let It Out. Another ballad, nicely orchestrated by Krumins, is Got To Find You. The instrumental Requiem Atlantis is a majestic slow song, a very melodic symphonic track with stunning guitar playing by Byrd, who is influenced by Uli Jon Roth on this track. So yes, one might say the sound is somewhat outdated, but personally I have come across many albums of recent years lacking the impact, the energy or the really impressive virtuosity of a guitarist like James Byrd on this album. Another positive point is the length of the album in relation to the quality of the songs, because in my opinion there are no crappy tunes or bootleg quality recordings on it. I like Krumins' singing best when he's within the boundaries of his normal range and especially when he sings ballads. When he has to reach for the higher notes, it begins to sound unnatural and it seems to feel a bit uncomfortable then. Drummer Ken Mary, who's also from Fifth Angel, can be heard on this album next to several other drummers as well as bassist Tim Wolf.

Beyond The Pillars showcases the talents of a band that could have been world famous, if they would have been promoted and supported by the right people in the music industry. Production-wise the album sounds as if it was recorded in the late eighties. The compositions are from the early stages of Byrd's efforts and most of them are pretty straightforward although there are certainly many highly enjoyable moments, even for progressive ears.