Review : BE’LAKOR – “Stone’s Reach”

Be’lakor – Stone’s Reach
released June 20, 2009 on Prime Cuts Music (AU) / February 5, 2010 on Kolony Records (EU)

Rating : 3.5/5

Much Australian metal remains obscure in North America, and I have been lukewarm to output from the likes of Parkway Drive and Devolved, which did make there way here. However, my interest was rekindled initially by Karnivool and has now been captured by Be’lakor. The Melbourne quintet are doing their best with distribution, and hopefully the European label Kolony Records will gain them some American presence. At least all the RPG metalheads should appreciate the band’s name as derived from Warhammer.

The first notable item is their heavy Scandinavian influence, whether it’s the Gothenburg thrash attack or the pervading Opeth dynamics throughout, they certainly have the Swedes to thank. With an average track length of over eight minutes, be sure to strap yourselves in for epic as well. The band is skilled at extending variations on a theme and alternating the pace, though if one were to scale it between plodding and breakneck, they generally stay at a gallop.

They sometimes lost me was when they reached for too much. “Outlive the Hand” is most successful, particularly with its use of acoustic guitars and prominent keyboards. But sections of opener “Venator” and centerpiece “Sun’s Delusion” transitioned more clumsily, and may have benefited from additional editing. I was also more bored than lulled by the latter’s staticky outro. Its overly-synthetic sound also hampers “Held In Hollows”, and while the all-acoustic guitar interlude “Husks” is pleasant, Stone’s Reach did not have my full attention again until closer “Countless Skies”. Here Steve Merry focuses on piano mode to serve the ambitious ten-minute structure. I found it interesting that the vocalist/guitarist George Kosmas never strays from throaty – yet understandable – growls across the whole of the album, even in Be’lakor‘s mellowest moments.

Be’lakor have a clear course set to become the southern hemisphere’s most prominent melodic death metal band. Perhaps thinking of the Clash Of The Titans remake, it’s unclear if they chose Benvenuto Cellini’s ‘Perseus Beheading Medusa’ as their cover art for any particular reason (to catch some fame from the blockbuster film?), but one can’t help but wonder why they chose such powerful classic imagery.

FCC OK
Try 1, 2, 3, 8

01. Venator
02. From Scythe to Sceptre
03. Outlive the Hand
04. Sun’s Delusion
05. Held in Hollows
06. Husks
07. Aspect
08. Countless Skies