Beyond the End of Despair...

Beyond the End of Despair... is a fulfilling third album on which Galneryus combines speeding powerful rhythm, Syu’s fluid, beautiful guitar and Yama-B (Masaki Yamada)’s soaring high-range vocals. It further deepens the neoclassical style cultivated on the previous two works. Classical, beautiful phrases and power metal’s sure momentum intersect vividly, and the songs, while keeping big, memorable melody, develop truly complexly and dramatically. A record where the band’s maturing ability shines. From the development from the opening instrumental to the speeding “Shriek of the Vengeance” and the drama of “Raid Again” to a cut like “Shiver,” every song is engaging, while cuts like “Point of No Return” and “Arise” convey the work’s fullness. Syu’s neoclassical, virtuosic guitar is powerfully in sharp form throughout. A record on which, despite the great amount of outstanding technique, the playing always works powerfully toward heightening the songs’ drama. It unites speed and lyricism at an extremely high level. A powerful, engaging record showing the outstanding playing and sure songwriting of Japanese melodic metal on an imposing scale — a record where the band’s steady ability shines.