Last Friday, Nottingham's Beyond Grace released the third and final installment in their Welcome to the New Dark Ages series, an EP trilogy set to hit the shelves physically as a full-length album later this year. Andrew Walmsley, Ed Gorrod, Tim Yearsley, and Chris Morely have been working on this technical death metal saga since November 2023, releasing each segment independently and intermittently amongst a stable output of singles. Just under a year after part one, its sequel came out, and this July, the line concludes. Welcome to the Dark Ages. Part III tracks the formula of the previous releases: three songs per extended play, with a total runtime of thirteen to fourteen minutes, hosting universally reliable death metal.
Part III, acting as the ceremonial effort, should be the episode listened to first to get the freshest taste of the band. Guest vocalist Bethany "Beef" Pitts of social justice thrash collective Transgressive lends the opening track, "Radium Angels," a mean, modern attitude and pairs nicely with softer cleans and metallic instrumentation. Following that, deathcore vibes radiate from "Reign of Error," mainly coming from the slow, yet not-over-the-top breakdown. "First As Tragedy" completes the recording with another short and sweet offering.
Part II and Part I follow suit in solidity, with Part II tapping deeper into proggy rhythms and moodier atmospheres, and I displaying an edgier version of Beyond Grace, prone to experimentation and evolution.
If you crave three small, back-to-back injections of nice English metal totalling no longer than a regular LP, Hey! Listen to Beyond Grace!