Beyonder – The Wish (1996, Cenobite Records) Vinyl Review: Psychedelic Hardcore from Another Dimension

Some hardcore records sound inseparable from the year in which they were made. The Wish feels different. Released in 1996, this three-track 12" still sounds strange, futuristic and completely unlike most of the gabber being produced at the time.

Beyonder was an alias of Rodney Balai, who wrote and produced the record together with Michel Klaassen (Leviathan). Their combined sound fits Cenobite Records perfectly: dark, driving and cinematic, but also unusually detailed. Nothing here feels thrown together simply to fill a B-side. Every track has its own identity while remaining part of the same mysterious, alien world.

Even the UFO artwork tells you what to expect. This is hardcore designed to take you somewhere else.

The title track opens with an ominous sample from The Outer Limits, immediately creating the feeling that something unknown is approaching. When the kick arrives, it is heavy and commanding without swallowing the rest of the production. That leaves plenty of room for the real stars of the track: the tearing synth riffs, hoover sounds and constantly moving 303 lines.

What makes “The Wish” exceptional is its composition. The track keeps introducing new ideas, shifting between acid, melody and pure hardcore pressure without ever becoming crowded. Its timing changes and carefully placed breaks give every element space to make an impact.

There is something almost trance-like about the way the riffs build and circle around each other. It is psychedelic hardcore in the truest sense: aggressive enough for a gabber floor, but hypnotic and atmospheric enough to feel like a journey. Nearly three decades later, it still sounds as though it arrived from the future.

“Dark Shadow” begins with intense sirens before dropping into a wonderfully corrosive acid line. It is less spectacular than the title track, but deliberately so. Where “The Wish” constantly reaches for another dimension, this track stays closer to the ground and concentrates on tension and forward movement.

The central 303 pattern twists through a mixture of harsh background sounds and dark melodic touches. A short middle section introduces a more stripped-back, direct hardcore feeling before the acid takes control again.

It is exactly the kind of B-side track that works well in a set: compact, forceful and instantly recognisable. The production remains unmistakably Cenobite, balancing darkness with just enough melody to keep the track alive.

The final track may be the darkest and most relentless cut on the record. “The Mind Is a Labyrinth” moves like a mechanical march, driven by a hard kick and a sinister main riff that seems to pull the listener deeper with every repetition.

Its greatest strength is the arrangement. Brief beatless sections create anticipation without allowing the track to lose momentum. Each pause increases the pressure, and every returning kick feels deeper and heavier than the one before it. Faster synth patterns move around the main melody, adding detail while reinforcing the track’s mysterious atmosphere.

The vocal fragments about seeing, knowing and uncovering the secrets of the mind complete the feeling. This is not simply a hard track; it is a carefully constructed piece of dark science-fiction hardcore. The DJ-friendly opening and ending are practical, but everything in between feels like a controlled descent into something much more dangerous.

The Wish represents Cenobite Records at its most distinctive. Its combination of gabber kicks, Alpha Juno aggression, psychedelic acid and horror-infused science fiction gives it a character that very few records have managed to imitate.

The title track is an undisputed classic, “Dark Shadow” provides a concentrated dose of acid pressure, and “The Mind Is a Labyrinth” closes the record with one of the strongest dark hardcore compositions in the Cenobite catalogue. Together, the three tracks form a release without filler and without a weak moment.

This is more than a sought-after piece of old-school vinyl. It is proof of how adventurous hardcore could be during the mid-1990s - and how timeless the results can sound when atmosphere, aggression and composition are given equal attention.

A true alien slammer.