no web - (Between) Beyond and Before

No Web

(Between) Beyond and Before
self-released; 2014

3.6 out of 5

By Ethan Skelton

This hardcore trio formed in 2011 and hail from the romantic lands of Sweden. But this outfit is anything but romantic. They find themselves between the black metal counterparts and lovely a cappella groups that have been sprouting up overseas since The Real Group. Of course, there’s much more influence at hand from the darker side of things. 


No Web isn’t quite grindcore or true metal so I applaud their genre bridging ability, but what is composed throughout the album never gains any more ground beyond typical thrash elements. The vocals are coarse and near painful to listen to (a good or a bad thing depending how you look at it).


I wouldn’t say it’s a cheap effort, but was looking for more originality, granted this type of music is tough to stick out in. Everybody’s got their guitars tuned down to A and seems ferociously passionate about something or is just generally mad. It’s a cold road of abrasive drums and sharp guttural guitar that leads to nowhere unexpected. I was pleased to hear that they didn’t have any crutches between double bass drumming or incredible guitar work unlike most bands in this field. They are working harder to produce something different and even if they didn’t quite make the mark, the effort is more than sufficient on their album (Between) Beyond and Before.

All the songs except for the last, “Key/Chain” are pounding nuggets of punk core rocknado. Short, fast, and loud; they hit and deliver the madness and move right onto the next. It’s hard to discern one track from the other, and then again I wasn’t exactly minding much. Too busy wrapping my head around just what was noise and what struck a musical nerve with me. Those moments were all too rare. 

“Warm/Wind” slams on a chord for almost an entire minute without developing or growing into a new shape. The vocals bleed their strain over the top and everything falls away into a discordant array of tri tone sludge. It’s all so macabre and strange. From a rhythmic analyst point of view, I enjoyed how “Shape/Shift” staggered back and forth between 9/8 and 10/8 time signatures. I think there was even an 11 thrown in there, but the sea of sound was just too salty to wade further.

I wouldn’t chance my intentions on a second listen, but the first was definitely engaging. For those who mark themselves black of soul, this is your calling.

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