Beyond the Unknown was the second album from Brazil's Opprobrium, originally released in 1990 on Nuclear Blast Records when the band was formerly known as Incubus, and later re-released when the band officially changed their name so as not to conflict with the more popular pop-metal group from Florida. Metal Mind Productions is now reissuing Beyond the Unknown, although like the debut Serpent Temptation, this one also gets a somewhat bare bones treatment, with no bonus tracks and no additional photos, though lyrics to all songs are included. The music here is pretty similar to the debut, though there is a certain maturity that seemed to have set in between the two recordings, the Howard brothers taking their native Brazilian influences and meshed them with their newfound US flavors (the band had relocated to New Orleans) for a lethal pot of thrash metal stew. The Sepultura feel is still there, though you can also detect a little Slayer, Kreator, and Desruction for good measure, as the band was easily soaking in many of the most brutal thrash acts of the early 90's. Expect plenty of manic and somewhat intricate riffs coupled with frenzied drum work on tracks like "Curse of the Damned Cities" and "Freezing Torment", and the bands' sense of groove shows its head on the stirring "Massacre of the Unborn".
Though there's some good material here, the production is obviously dated, and a few of the songs just have a 'been there, heard that' sort of generic feel to them. Despite that, the performances are solid, and you can tell the energy level of Opprobrium was pretty high for this album, so you have to give them props for that. No, this reissue is not quite up to Metal Mind's recent standards, but for many Beyond the Unknown will be enough of a rarity to seek out and add to your extreme metal collection.
Track Listing
- Certain Accuracy
- The Deceived Ones
- Curse of the Damned Cities
- Beyond the Unknown
- Freezing Torment
- Massacre of the Unborn
- On the Burial Ground
- Mortify
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