The Physics of Fire

'The Physics Of Fire' - Becoming The Archetype (6/10)

Considered by some to be this Atlanta-based metalcore act's greatest achievement thus far, Becoming The Archetype pulls out their technical and melodic brand of metal once again with their second album, 'The Physics Of Fire'. A sound similar to fellow US east coasters Trivium, the band has since come to be known for their overtly proggy take on metalcore, instrumental proficiency, as well as their Christian lyrical themes. Any precedent or previously held conception of the band aside however, 'The Physics Of Fire' does show a band that can easily stand their ground when it comes to their skills as performing musicians, but the album as a whole is held back by a rather derivative prog metal cheesiness and a somewhat superficial approach to songwriting that feels as if it may favour flash over substance.

'The Epoch Of War' opens 'The Physics Of Fire' on a note that seems all too traditional for the prog metal genre; a symphonic introduction followed by some anthemic metal riffs and then finally succumbing to some thrashy goodness. On their own, each aspect is done very well; melodic guitar licks blistering overtop some synth ambiance get the technical aspects of recording music down to a fine tune. However, especially for the metal fan out there that has heard a build up of intensity along these lines before, it is difficult to take Becoming The Archetype's music entirely seriously, when it's clear that their progressive leanings are leaning on top of conventions set in place even almost a decade before 'The Physics Of Fire' was released. Throughout the album though, there are always moments that seek to really give some sort of promise; passages that hint at the great potential that Becoming The Archetype could have if they shed their voracious attachment to their influences. Among these are some jazz guitar sections, as heard on the second track 'Immolation' or 'The Monolith', which are always a nice break from the rather over-the-top metal sections.

In terms of songwriting, many of the ideas here are excellent, but the band does have a bad habit of taking the very best that 'The Physics Of Fire' has to offer and cuts them short as soon as they are ready to create a real 'wow' moment. Moreover, while there are riffs and short passages that instantly impress in virtually every track, the way in which these ideas are put together in the structure of the song is rarely complimentary, either sounding generic (as was the case with the opener) or simply weak. An example of this is where the music breaks down into a jazzy melodic section with clean vocals halfway through 'The Monolith', and just as the vocal melody begins to pick up the pace, it abruptly segues into a conventional metalcore section, leaving the listener to wonder why Becoming The Archetype would have not chosen to develop some of the ideas here more fully, instead of trying to throw as many lesser concepts into each song as possible.

Becoming The Archetype are certainly a pretentious bunch of prog metallers, although their firm grasp of musicianship and chemistry as a band cannot be denied. 'The Physics Of Fire' is a fine album that could have been great, had the album been somewhat filtered, and had the better things heard here been focused on more than merely crowding the sound with a thousand riffs that often feel like they do not connect with each other, or go in any particular direction. A good second album from this band, even if it may not be reflective of their obvious potential as a band.

To me, Becoming the Archetype is one of those bands that never disappoint the listener. They never fail to surprise and every album is a mix of new fresh tunes and lyrical content. With this album they have proven themselves once again.

The first track starts off with a very relaxing type of intro and after that the music explodes into something totally unique. The growling vocals are mixed with clean vocals which guarantee that the vocals don’t get boring. The main thing about this album that totally rises out above anything else is the unique mix of gothic keyboard harmonics, harsh death metal and a melodic death metal type of sound. In “Second death” the band reminded me of a gothic \ doom metal band and this gothic theme is combined with a unique death metal sound.

Then there are the solos. One thing is certain – these guys really know something about playing guitar solos and I think that there are some death metal bands out there that can really learn something from them.

I am actually quite confused by the reviewers for this album claiming that The Physics of Fire isn't as good an album as Terminate Damnation. I read the reviews and thought that the very same reasons that people gave for it not being as good were some of the reasons I would give for it not being as good! But I'm not here to talk about the other reviewers, I'm here to talk about what is one of my all time favourite albums!

I loved Terminate Damnation, but Physics of Fire shows a real step forward in musical ability for Becoming the Archetype. I happened to see them live on their European tour a few months before PoF was released, so I know what these guys can do. And this album, which I was eagerly anticipating after TD and of course the tour, does not disappoint! Yes, the band has changed their style somewhat from TD, but that is the point of progressive metal, which the band has now moved into the realms of. In the same way that any other progressive metal band (take Opeth as a good example of this) tries to keep their music fresh and exciting, so too have BTA.

There is a lot more evidence of the technicality of the guitar work in PoF and with the inclusion of Alex Snow as lead guitarist, the solos come thick and fast. They appear to be more technical on this album as well, which adds to the new sound, and they work extremely well with the pounding rhythm guitars and the bass of Jasom Wisdom. Wisdom's vocals are one of the few things that haven't changed, but in this instance I think that is a good thing. His shouting is a very distinct sound, and they are part of what makes BTA unique. The drumming seems pacier and altogether more tight, and this is evident right from the first track, "Epoch of War". The piano is included more frequently on PoF, and while they don't have any four minute long piano solos like they do on TD, the piano still manages to add a fantastic epic feel to the overall sound being used in every song as synth effects as well as a classic piano.

So yes, they have a new sound, but I would be willing to bet that had BTA produced an album that sounded just like TD, the reviewers would be complaining that they are a one sound band. And I am so glad they aren't as now I have an amazingly talented Christian metal band, I don't want them to fall into the trap of creating the same old thing every time. It's nice to see Christian musicians thinking outside the box for once!

Bring on the next BTA album, and may it be another fantastic death metal experience!

I really am rather sad. I'm sad because BtA has vanished, and in it's place is some so-so progressive metalcore band. That's right, progressive metalcore. There isn't a hint of death metal on this cd. And when I say progressive, don't think I mean long songs. In this case, progressive means fairly standard length songs with excessive use of keys, a fair amount of slow, clean guitars, and hit or miss clean vocals. So this cd is definitely different from Terminate Damnation, but are all the differences bad?

First of all, unlike TD, the bass here is completely undetectable, so there is nothing to say about the bass, except to mention its lack thereof. The use of keys on this cd is much more common, and with the exceptions of “Construct and Collapse”, and “Fire Made Flesh” they really just detract from the overall flow of the cd, and make it sound somewhat cheesy. When a normal Piano is used (as opposed to the more electronic sounds usually made by the keys), it fits in well with the songs. I wish they would have ditched the keys, and just occasionally used piano, but I think they tried (and failed) to use the keys to add an epic atmosphere to the cd. The drumming on this cd seems to be about on par with TD. However, the drumming on TD wasn't anything mindblowing, so to say that the drumming on this cd is on par with that isn't saying a lot. The guitar work on this cd is quite good, but it's still painfully obvious that they lost a guitarist since their last album. The guitar work is much less technical than TD (which could have almost been classified as technical metalcore). The solos are the most technical parts of the song, so in that respect, they are excellent, but they all end up sounding the same (lots of tapping and speed, but little emotion), and get boring fast. One place the guitar shines are the riffs, especially in “Endure”, and in this respect, it's probably as good as BtA's previous release. However, unlike on TD, Jason's vocals here are very boring and repetitive. This time around he uses no death grunts or hardcore shrieks, only tried and true metalcore growls. That for me, was one of the biggest let downs of this cd, because I thought that they really did excellently with the vocals on the last cd. Clean vocals were non-existent on the last cd, but thanks to guitarist Alex Kenis, we get some here. Sadly, even the clean vocals are problematic. Alex's wavering, sometimes pitchy singing usually doesn't mesh very well with Jason's harsh growls. That isn't to say that all the clean vocals are bad. Some songs, such as “Immolation”, and “Second Death” have excellent vocals, and in these songs I could see Alex becoming a potent voice for BtA in the future. One final note/complaint; TD had an excellent acoustic song in “Nights Sorrow”, but there isn't anything of that caliber here, and that really makes this cd less enjoyable for me.

So obviously, the musical aspects of this cd fall short of TD, and many other albums, but how do the lyrics and artwork compare? I actually found the lyrics to be one of my favorite parts, especially in the four segment “Physics of Fire” epic. The lyrics here are very exciting and well written, and I really enjoyed how they had a focus on fire in all their songs. It gives the songs a slightly more epic feel when you know that they are all connected lyrically. Unsurprisingly, Dan's artwork for TD is decidedly better than the artwork on Physics of Fire. It's not that I don't like the concept behind POF's art. Actually, I really like the concept, but I dislike how the art looks like it was done with some 3D program on the computer. The photos in the booklet are excellently done, and depict each band member with fire on some part of their body.

BtA's sophmore effort is a fairly good prog-metalcore album, but it just doesn't compare to TD. They really seem to have taken an unexpected step backwards with this release, and we can only hope that they will do much better next time. Recommended only to fans of metalcore and BtA.

I've just gotten this album after absolutely loving Terminate Damnation and I'm really struggling to listen to it to the end. The two changes in band members have really had an influence on this work, especially the leads.

What I really liked about the 1st album seems to have disappeared. The vocal variety has pretty much gone with Jason pretty much belting out an angry shout more akin to Hardcore/Metalcore bands. There are no low growls (like in "one man parade" and "elegy"), no high pitched shreaks like in the opening to Elegy and through it. His main vocal style remains unchanged but with fewer changes in pitch, less growls etc. Even the vocal mixing is different, lacking the richness and depth of Terminate Damnation. Vocals are now rather flat and one dimensional with little overlaying of low and high together.

I normally love clean vocals (the new Dark Tranquility album - fiction is brilliant with Mikael Stanne's vocals haunting beautiful) but Alex Kenis's vocals sound weak and fluffy, syrupy sweet. Please either find a strong singer or forget the clean vocals.

The production seems muddied compared to the crisp, clean production style of the last album. The symbols are not as crisp and sharp as TD with guitars sounding hollower and flat.

Alex Kenis tries hard with his leads but honestly, they all sound pretty much the same with too much fretboard gymnastics and little feeling. Far too much hammering and not enough pinching or plucking, no wa wa pedals, with the tone sounding too soft (to cover up the sounds of his hands moving on the strings?) and never changing. Compared to TD (Terminate Damnation) leads (No Fall Too Far- lovely use of wa wa pedal and great feeling, Ex Nihilo - fits the rhythmn perfectly but not long enough :-), Into Oblivion - the acoustic lead is a thing of beauty) nothing comes close to them on POF. Unimaginative and repetitive....repetitive....have a said that before?

I really miss the style of songwriting of TD. This new album just doesn't have the slower, heavier mix of the old one or the change of tempo's. POF is overall faster without the brilliance of TD, no outstanding track like Elegy. Nocturne is the instrumental on POF, which is nice with guitar and piano but not as well written or absorbing as "Night's Sorrow" or "Denouement" and more repetitive than them both.

I really was excited when I heard BTA had a new album out but I confess I was worried when I heard about the band changes. It happens all the time, band gets new members and sounds different. This road is well worn with BTA packing their bags and now making the journey of change, evolving into something i'm not sure I like.

Well cya fellas. When you find out that the grass isn't greener on the other side and you miss home, i'll be here waiting.

Not too long ago, the Christian metal community was definitely astounded and impressed with the Solid State release of Terminate Damnation from a band called Becoming the Archetype, formerly The Remnant, that almost seemed to come out of the blue. The album brought them much well earned respect because of their creative melodic metalcore sound, with the addition of piano and acoustic guitar.

What made that album so impressive to me was their incorporation of three guitarists, giving them the freedom to make all the guitars do something different, yet make it all sound so well thought out and put together. It happens to be one of my favorite Christian albums to date.

Of course, good things don't last forever. So much has changed about the band that pretty much the only way to tell that it's still BTA is Jason's voice. Everything else has changed dramatically. With the loss of one guitarist, it seems that their creativity has somewhat gone downhill, yet there's no denying that their guitars have definitely gotten a LOT more technical.

Creativity: 75

As I said before, I believe their music creativity has gotten somewhat lower since their last album. There are still melodic parts, but they've become fewer in number and longer.

Melody: 87

Melody is still good, as they try their best in every song to keep the same beat and have melodic guitar parts, as well as piano, acoustic guitars and a new incorporation of a creepy synth sound. Not bad at all.

Technicality: 92

One thing that's changed is that they've definitely gotten a lot more technical. Their guitar solos are faster and more improved than from their last album (the tapping work on Endure is insane). I can barely hear the bass, and, as a bassist myself, that kind of pisses me off, so I can't really make assumptions of technicality on that level. The drummer definitely blasts more often, I've noticed, and there are a few parts on the album (Immolation, f.e.) where they try to go black metal and actually don't do a bad job. I'm impressed with their technicality, although they lost some of their melody as a result.

Vocals and lyrics: 95

The vocals haven't really changed since Terminate Damnation, except with the incorporation of clean vocals by guitarist Alex, which I think is a neat little addition, and actually improves the sound (Autopsy so far is my favorite song). I have to say that the lyrics have improved, as they've definitely revealed their Christian side a lot more, which demonstrates a rise in boldness of faith, which I really admire. The lyrics follow a central theme: fire. Sounds simple, yes, but I think the lyrics are better than the last album.

Song arrangement: 96

The album structure is similar to their last album (melodic to hard to melodic to hard then end), but they did something different this time. They made four songs into a series called The Physics of Fire which, when read from first to last, make up one whole song. What they did that I think is cool is that they arranged the four songs throughout the album in an incorrect order (part 3 is first, then part 1, etc.), therefore requiring some effort on the reader's part to read them in order. Some may not like it, but I do.

Band photos: 65

In this album, they now have individual photos, instead just one whole photo like they did on the last album, and I don't exactly admire that. The incorporation of fire into their pictures looks pretty cool. What I don't like is the inconsistency of the photos. Jason's so far is my favorite, because the fire is coming out of his mouth, and that's cool. Alex's photo, sorry to say, looks just queer. It looks like he's posing for some stupid magazine, and all he had to do was stick his finger in his mouth, and it would be complete. Count Seth's picture was just a giant face with fire in his eyes, and I didn't really like that. The lack of a real band photo was disappointing.

Album art: 90

Really cool. It's a guy encased in ice surrounded by fire. Freaking awesome, but I kind of like the album art on Terminate Damnation a little better, because it was hand made.

Overall: 83

The Physics of Fire was a very good addition for the Christian metal community, but it lacked the melody and innovation that was presented on Terminate Damnation. Many things have improved, but many things have gotten worse. My brother just bought it, so I can enjoy the things I like most of the album whenever. He bought it in Hot Topic, so I have no doubt that one could find it pretty much anywhere.

This is my first real album review to this awesome web site, and I hope you enjoy it!

Sir Lancelot.