Beyond Creation are a progressive technical death metal quartet from Montreal. What distinguishes them from the mass of bands that labor in the same field is that their music relies heavily on melodic compositions and near-constant rhythmic grooves and easily accessible riffs that seem to be technically impressive by happenstance rather than design, making their sound that much more appealing. Their lyrics and concepts are often rigorously intellectual and deal with topics such as science, spirituality, politics, corruption, government conspiracies, and space aliens. Formed in 2005 by guitarist/lead vocalist Simon Girard and former guitarist Nicolas Domingo Viotto, the pair began writing songs but didn't hire original drummer Guyot Begin-Benoit until 2008. After months of rehearsals and songwriting, Begin-Benoit decided to leave; he was replaced by guitarist/backing vocalist Kevin Chartré. Original bassist Dominic "Forest" Lapointe came onboard in 2010. Shortly afterward, Beyond Creation privately issued their first demo, and followed in 2011 with their debut long-player The Aura for PRC Music. In 2012, Philippe Boucher replaced Begin-Benoit in the drum chair. The band subsequently signed to Seasons of Mist in 2013 and the label reissued The Aura, while the band --who had already established a large fan base in Canada -- toured the U.S. and Japan. The new version of the album was greeted with universal acclaim by critics and metal fans alike. Earthborn Evolution followed in 2014, to even greater critical praise and warranted intensive touring over the next several years, taking them on major segues across the Americas and Europe where they headlined their own shows, supported bigger names, and played all the major (and many minor) festival stages. During one of those tours, Lapointe left the band and was replaced by bassist Hugo Doyon-Karout, who stabilized the lineup. Beyond Creation basically lived on the road through 2017, and issued two music videos for "Coexistence," and the track "Earthborn Evolution" as stopgaps -- they were writing even during their seemingly endless travels. At the beginning of 2018, they entered the studio and emerged with a third long player. Following the issue of singles and music videos for the tracks "Theatrical Delirium" and "The Inversion," Beyond Creation undertook an American tour in support of third long-player Algorythm, released in October. ~ Thom Jurek