Register Forgot login?

© 2002-2024
Encyclopaedia Metallum

Privacy Policy

Beyond the Embrace > Against the Elements > Reviews
Beyond the Embrace - Against the Elements

Fun with prepositional phrases - 20%

autothrall, July 12th, 2010

Imitation is the sincerest form of attempting to turn a profit through a willing audience, whilst you simultaneously pull the wool down over its eyes. In the case of Massachusetts' Beyond the Embrace, the design was not only to emulate their Swedish heroes In Flames, but also up the ante a bit. This was to be accomplished by adding a third guitar player to the roster. So the same dual leads you heard from the European heroes can come off stronger in the live arena, with a rhythm guitar still chugging away beneath them, or the band could simply rip out a triple harmony. In principle, this is not a bad game plan, and having seen the band live, it's effective enough from the sheer sonic standpoint.

Metal Blade saw this potential, and in the midst of helping snag up ever halfway competent band playing melodic death metal in the wake of the genre's titans (In Flames, Dark Tranquillity, At the Gates, Soilwork, etc), a deal was born. Beyond the Embrace tweaked a bunch of tunes from their s/t 2001 demo and headed out on the same road to success that worked for their state peers All That Remains, Unearth, Shadows Fall, Killswitch Engage, and so forth. Unfortunately, Against the Elements suffers from the same ingredients it so wished to thrive upon, and the album is really just a clone of 1996-2000 era In Flames, with a mix of Anders Friden and James Hetfield vocal styles, lacking all of the power of its 'host' band.

You can't really just string along an entire album of cutesy melodic leads and hope for the best. The reason these worked so wonderfully with In Flames and the other Swedish bands was due to the general uplifting nature of the music, the glorious surge that the traditional metal melodies could take in a head-on collision with the extreme vocals and thundering aggression. Beyond the Embrace are craft enough to write a thousand or so noodling riffs, but the rhythm guitar consistently sucks, and the result is the band sounds half like Sum 41 or Blink 182 with Trivium + Anders vocals and metal guitar leads. Listen to a song like "Mourning in Magenta", which is basically four chord rock tripe which would only be fit for the Warped Tour second stage. "Compass" gives me the same feel of momentum as At the Gate's "Slaughter of the Soul", only in placed of the 'Go!' break they segue into another set of melodies and awful, howling vocals and tapping which might actually have worked wonders in a better song.

The tragedy is that the album never really gets much better than this, and quickly sinks into a footnote, just another band trying to cash in on a popular sound. Like the intro to "Moonshield" or the instrumental "The Jester's Dance" from The Jester Race, Beyond the Embrace try to show their somber, 'deep' side with the acoustic/lead instrumental "Drowning Sun", but it comes across an exercise in futility. "Rapture", "Release", and "The Bending Sea" have between them enough decent riffs to fill out a filler track on Come Clarity, and the remainder are even less apt to stir the fire within, as the band's creative benefactors once did. The vocals never strike out into their own identity, too much the product of this guy's hard-on for half of his CD collection.

The production isn't great either, but that's hardly the straw that breaks this camel's back. This camel never even got his bit and bridle, he fell ill and was executed before transporting a single man across the desert. The lyrics are the same personal, existential morass of 'emo with heavy guitars' that so many melodeath bands vomit forth. Life is such a burden. Call my psychiatrist. There is no doubt that the members of Beyond the Embrace can perform their instruments well enough, even through emulation, but they're such an uninspiring, safe knockoff here that I found absolutely no moments of release in this debut. That they got any attention at all seems to have been a simple benefit of being in the right place at the right time, a time when labels were desperately seeking the repeated success of European bands that had struck gold in the 90s, only culling these doppelgangers from the escalating US scene.

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com

Beyond great... Awesome! - 89%

meedley_meedley, August 14th, 2004

I first saw these guys when they opened up for Iced Earth during their Glorius Burden tour. I was blown away by their talent. AND they have 3 guitarists! though i must admit, i didnt see a need for a third. I then got this album after the show. This is ripping melodic death metal. The vocalist provides both death vocals and clean singing. like the singing a lot, mainly the clean vocals. The distortion on the guitars is crisp and heavy. Drum work is pretty exceptional.

Bastard Screams is a nice opener. Really shows the speed in them and is one of the best tracks here.

Mourning In Magenta is probably the best track here (well it's my favorite here anyway). Really melodic and good lead parts. More clean vocals are shown here.

Compass is has nice flow, really hard hitting with the vocals, very good stuff here.

Rapture is one of the more melodic tracks. Good harmonizing with all 3 guitarists. The verses remind me of Clayman-era In Flames. Great stuff. Iron Maiden influences are highly evident here as well. Really gutty vocals. Good mood change and tempo change at 4:24, but shouldve lasted a little longer.

Drowning Sun is an instrumental that, once again, has amazing Maiden influences, more of the SSOASS-era than anything. Good acoustics and showcases their musicianship quite well. Leads are very well done as well.

The title track starts by showing that theres 3 guitarists here, in case you werent aware. I still think Maiden does it a little better, but theyve been around for over 25 years. Speed is key here. Real headbanging stuff here, even if it is melodic. Those clean vocals are really well done.

Release mixes both clean and death vocals well. Many solos and leads throughout. Decent song.

The Bending Sea is one of the heavier tracks, and one of the better ones. I think this is one of the songs they played when i saw them, and everyone was going crazy, even the people that didnt know of them till that moment. Heavy riffs throughout and muchos fast drums.

Embers Astray has nothing special, at least not when compared to the previous amazing tracks. Still good, melodic material throughout.

And now... The Riddle of Steel. This epic instrumental has to be one of the best tracks to be found here, and is definitly a great way to end the album. Good theory is evident, this also has to be the fastest song. The high note riffs are done very nicely. This then moves to good acoustics. This has The Jester Race written all over it, but nothing ripped off. The leads are probably a little better though. More than exceptional leads that are hard to find these days. Nice pianos end the endievor. There's not much more i can say to do this song proper justice.

Again, when i saw these guys play, the energy level was insane. When I heard thesee recordings, i expected that same energy level. It wasnt quite the same, but hey, most live experiences have much greater intensity anyway. Highly enjoyed this album should without a doubt be picked up if you see it in stores. DONT download this one!

Originality Isn't everything. - 90%

CallerOfTheCthulhu, July 7th, 2004

How many times have you heard the style "Gothenburg" come up in metal lately? After doing my research, there are roughly only eighteen acts outside of "Beyond The Embrace" that play this style. Many, however, also blend in a hint of a melodic death in the mix, intentionally or not. But does this mean it is a bad thing? No. It just means there is a lack of bands able to pull this style off well.

Against The Elements, the debut album from "Beyond The Embrace" is definately something to look out for due to many reasons. Aside the reasonably original sound they produce, the fact that it is done so well is enough to draw any metal headed fan in. The music is simply amazing. One minute you have a fast paced, heavy hitting album, and the next you are listening to a rather slow paced song or instrumental that makes you sit down and take a breather before tearing shit up again.

The lyrical content isn't the most ingenious, but it is a somewhat creative look on death, depression, and soul searching. Sometimes they are rather deep, and sometimes rather blatent and obvious. But either way, the point get's across excellently with crisp clarity within the vocalists rough singing tones.

With obvious inspiration by some of the greats, this album is definately something to keep your eye out for. The quality for a debut album is amazing on this album, and all in all, this is definately one that deserves to be in your metal collection. From the moment you hear the beginning insanity to the album's closing chords, you'll be hooked. So, with no big let downs, aside the fact that they aren't the most original band (you can hear the "Iron Maiden" and "In Flames" inspirations here and there, maybe some "Metallica" influences every once in a while), you'll still be banging your fists in the air between the sheer insane metal and catchy melodies.