This came out in 2003 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
In the finest Japanese tradition, Balzac aren’t an original creation — they’re a smaller, cut-rate knockoff of an American original.
The product in question: Horror-punks The Misfits. Admittedly, the four men of Balzac do a fine job of it, recreating the chugging guitar grind, soaring melodies, whoa-ho vocals and demonic melodrama of their heroes’ crypt-kicking anthems with slavish devotion. Guitarist Atsushi even has the requisite foot-long forelock, while several of the boys sport skeleton outfits. Despite having all the originality of a mass-produced Halloween costume, though, there’s no denying one sad but true fact: Beyond The Darkness, even at its most predictable, is still more invogirated and invigorating than the last several Misfits albums. In other words, as usual, the Japanese have beat the Americans at their own game.
