Posted on Wed, Jan. 17, 2007

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Moving ‘Beyond’ America music on the menu

Local metal group Beyond Fallen signs European record deal

By Alan K. Stout Weekender Editor

There’s an old saying that prophets are never recognized nor accepted in their hometown. And while the members of the band Beyond Fallen certainly don’t claim to be prophets, they admit they sometimes feel a bit slighted here in NEPA - where they live and where they record their music – even within the confines of the local hard-rock music scene. Thankfully for the group, music fans across the globe see and hear things differently.

Since their inception four years ago, Beyond Fallen has built a name for itself within the European metal scene. They’ve received glowing reviews from the European press and have sold plenty of CDs to European fans on-line and through its distribution deal with Hellion Records. Last week, however, the band took things even further by announcing it had inked a record deal with Melissa Records, a European label that has promised to give the band even more exposure in the motherland.

“This is a regular record deal,” says guitarist Steve Jasuilewicz. “We went through probably more than a month of negations trying to decide how the contract would benefit us both, mutually.”

The plan calls for Beyond Fallen to record its next album, a 10-track collection, at Sound Investments Recording Studio in Scranton. When completed, the band will then ship the CD to Melissa Records, which will press, market and distribute the album throughout Europe. An April release is planned.

“There will be a lot more promotion, and probably a wider area of coverage where the CD will get to,” says Jasuilewicz. “It’s going to open doors.”

Beyond Fallen, formed in 2003, released its first CD, “Lost In The Shadows,” in 2005. Tracks include “Concrete Lucifer,” “Mask of Deception” and “Bringing Out The Dead.” In addition to catching the attention of European fans, the album also served as a springboard for some regional success, including opening spots in Allentown for metal icons such as W.A.S.P., Anthrax and Overkill.

“We do the music we want to play, and it’s gotten great press all over the world,” says Jasuilewicz. “Pretty much the whole Central Europe area - Belgium, Germany, Netherlands, Sweden - they love what we’re doing. It makes you feel good and it gives you a sense of accomplishment, in that you’ve done something that people actually enjoy and want to buy and want to listen to.”

Beyond Fallen also features Joe Karavis on vocals, Mike Johnson of guitar, Chuck Donahue on bass and Tom Carden on drums. Influences on the project include classic and progressive metal acts such as Judas Priest, Dream Theater, Iron Maiden, Iced Earth and Black Sabbath, or as Jasuilewicz says, “true metal.” The band also embraces a more dark, traditional metal image - something that likely appeals to some European hard-rock fans.

“Germany is considered to be the biggest ‘metal country’ in the world,” says Jasuilewicz. “They thrive on it. They just love metal, and the style that we play. What we’ve done here is like a drop in the bucket compared to how we do overseas.”

Locally, Beyond Fallen, like some other local bands, has sometimes grown annoyed with the regional music scene. In 2007, there are just as many bands as ever and more groups than ever doing original music, but there are also fewer rock clubs and far less people showing up at rock shows. It’s a healthy scene - music wise - but not necessarily business wise. Also, cover bands are also still more likely to get the biggest shows in the biggest clubs and Jasuilewicz says Beyond Fallen sometimes even feels snubbed by other local hard-rock groups that play originals.

“I talk a lot of the bands around here, and there are a lot of cool guys,” he says. “But it seems we still lack the respect of the local music community. No matter what we accomplish, I don’t know if we’ll ever gain the respect of the community around here. But here we are. We’re on the next level. We’re going to tour in Europe.”

Indeed. Part of Beyond Fallen’s new record deal also calls for a tour of Europe this summer. The band will leave in mid-July and will headline the “Headbanger’s Open Air Festival” in Germany and do a series of large club dates in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands.

“We’re really looking forward to it. Everybody’s excited. We can’t wait to get over there and see what it’s all about. We hear so much from other bands that have been over there, and they say it’s like night and day.”

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