Customer Reviews

Dichotomy

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Becoming the Archetype was a band that I had to 'get into'. I first purchased Terminate Damnation due to word of mouth and wasn't too impressed on the first spin. It took awhile to grow on me as most really worth while bands tend to do, but when I finally 'got it', I couldn't stop listening! The musical spirit filled adventure this band takes you on is like no other!

The Physics of Fire is no different, but I am not writing a review for that record. Dichotomy, There are no words that can do this record justice... or at least just mine. From the first second to the last this record will pull you in and leave you begging for more, as a matter of fact I really do want more, this record only has 10 tracks and one of which is a short acoustic instrumental. If only they could have included two or three more tracks I would truly be satisfied.

One last thing:
I am one that does not pay attention to lyrics whatsoever, but the lyrics on this record are faith based, truly heart felt and inspirational. I am a Christian but have never felt this way through gospel music (BORING!), or any other type of christian music, but the lyrics on this record have truly moved me.

This is a CD that I keep coming back to. It has a very mature, theatrical sound. The vocals really hit hard with a deep guttural strength, as well as the lyrics having the balance between being uplifting and yet painful in their honesty. I love track 6's haunting harpsichord intro, and track 9's synth-pop sound turned booming growl. The bass is deep and the guitars artistic. This is a new, honed style from a band that just keeps getting better.

I was a fan of BTA's first album. I loved the progressive elements brought in to the metal mix. I didn't buy "Physics of Fire" because I saw the songs were shorter and thought the progressive stuff was history. I will have to re-examine it after getting "Dichotomy." I really got this one just because the vocalist screams sooooo good on it. And I was surprised to see that the progressive elements are still there within a concise 3-5 minute song format. These guys really are GREAT song writers. And the lyrics are good too. And "How Great Thou Art" is tons better like this than the sappy hymn version we have in our hymn books that we have to sing at everyone's funeral. Great lyrics, Great vocals, Great song writing, heavy as can be, Great musicianship all around.

On another note, the artwork seems to be a shout-out to C.S. Lewis' book "That Hideous Strength" in which artificial imortality is acheived by taking a guy's head and hooking it up to a bunch of wires and making it come alive. That's not the whole point, but it's been a long time since I read it. But perhaps that is why the band thanks Lewis and Ransom (a character from the novel) in the liner notes. If you like C.S. Lewis, you should definitely try his "Space Triology" and see how it fits with this album.

I'm old. Like as old as a lot of the reviewers' fathers, and I love this band. I listened to the black/death metal equivalents in the 80s and 90s and then it turned... screamo nu-metal which was disappointing. This band is amazing. Their technical ability as musicians has really blown my mind.

I decided to get Physics of Fire which I would describe as an artsy-fartsy metal project. Dichotomy is my favorite album by this band, but their technical abilities were confirmed when I listened to Physics of Fire (i.e., not just some fluke or getting really lucky with production on the album). I think Dichotomy is tighter... more finished-sounding. In reference to the other reviewers, the drumming here may be what makes the album sound tighter.

Dichotomy blew me away. BTA has definitely set the bar at a new level with this album. I had a hard time getting into their last album, but I eventually fell in love with it. However, I immediately fell in love with Dichotomy. I can't get enough. I find riffs from the album running through my head throughout the day. Becoming the Archetype's 'Dichotomy' is definitely one of my top albums of this year.
The guitars are crushing: great catchy riffs, heavy tone, awesome solos. There are also some really cool keyboard elements on the album adding depth to BTA's blend of metal. I think the vocals are better on this album than the last also. I would recommend this one to anyone. To check out some tracks, visit the bands myspace.

Becoming the Archetype has definitely crossed the boundary of perfection.Their third album dichotomy smashes anything I've heard.Mountain of Souls is the perfect way to start off the album with amazing riffs and a piano solo.Dichotomy is just as amazing especially with Jason Wisdom growling.Artificial Immortality is a harsh song based off of a C.S. Lewis book. Self Existent is the second best song on the album. St. Lullaby seems out of place but is beautiful none the less. Ransom is the first song Jason Wisdom wrote by himself and is pretty impressive. Evil Unseen is a great song with truth at it's core.How Great Thou Art is very soothing especially the acoustic rift at the beginning.Deep Heaven very pretty with a female vocalist thrown in there.End of Age is them at the peak,packed with over six minutes of perfection.This album definitely deserves a 5 star.

This is one of the best metal albums that I've ever heard. Becoming the Archetype puts so much polar diversity on the CD that it defies the imagination. It's menacing. It's beautiful. It's bone-crushing. It's delicate. It's dissonant. It's melodic. It's frenzied. It's calm. These guys are often called progressive, and with good reason. They are not just throwing in piano parts and soft female vocals because they think it's the hip thing to do. They know what they are doing, and they do it very well. They are progressive metal masters, and there is design and intention behind all of it.

Right off the bat, your face is assaulted with layers of melody, brutality, and crunch with Mountain of Souls, the title track, and Artificial Immortality, the latter of which would make In Flames very proud. As the album progresses toward to mid-section, melody is dispensed with a bit, and the crushing death metal dominates; the exception being the beautiful classical guitar interlude "St. Anne's Lullaby." Having been satisfied with the face-pummeling you have just been dealt, when the obligatory acoustic intro to track 8, "How Great Thou Art", begins (and it is tastefully and beautifully done), the return of more melodic riffing is well-timed and welcome. If you've ever had any doubts that an old Christian hymn could be converted into an incredible metal song, or if it never occurred to you that someone might do it, doubt no more.

Time prevents me from getting into all the wonders of the final two tracks, "Deep Heaven" and "End of the Age", but suffice it to say they are epic in scope and masterfully composed, maybe the finest moments of the album. The snaking main riff of "Deep Heaven" with its strange time signature and infectious groove is enough to make Dream Theater jealous. The main progression of "End Of the Age" is straightforward, but epic and enthralling, like something that should be on the Lord of the Rings soundtrack. The songs are drawn-out, but they are captivating, not boring. They are the type of song where I'm sad when they are over. Few metal albums I've heard bring together a great diversity of style in such a cohesive, engrossing manner. Dichotomy is hard to beat.

Plus, any album with severed-head artwork is worth listening to.

Awesome, definitely a different type of christian metal. But it is definitely amazing and one of my favorite albums I've heard of late. I've had this album for awhile, haven't quite given it a full listen until now and I'm glad I did. The CD ends on a powerful note as well, awesome!

I love this cd and the fact that it got a little bit heavier agian than the last. I think the best track on the cd is `how great thou art`, even though the every other song on the album comes in a very close 2nd!

Why? As in why the heck didn't I know about this band sooner? I consider myself a pretty well-connected metalhead and between satellite radio, friend's recommendations, Pandora, Youtube, blogs, etc. - I get exposed to a lot of music and I enjoy discovering new things. How this escaped me is until just recently is quite puzzling because it has all the elements I love about progressive/heavy music. Besides the great guitar riffs, layered vocals, blasting drum beats, etc. - the production by Devin Townsend is just flat-out epic. The whole cd has a grandiose feel to it and stretches far beyond the boundaries of the usual. For the record, I will say that I am not religious - far from it, but the Christian themes do not distract me and they certainly don't take away from the great music here. Being pegged as a "Christian band" may be the reason they are not well-known, but I applaud the band for following their inspiration, and when learning more about them it becomes evident that they are intelligent people with great views towards bringing a positive attitude to the metal genre. There is a little bit of everything here - a variety of vocal styles, some progressive twists and turns, some brutally heavy parts, some mellow and emotional parts, interesting sound effects and mixing, and some piano and harpsichords to go with all the chugging shred guitar and super-tight drumming. It's hard to pick favorites, but I find myself playing "Artificial Immortality" quite a bit, and I also love "Evil Unseen" and the closing track "End of the Age". I went back and listened to "Physics of Fire" and didn't care too much for it - to me this represents a massive leap forward from what I heard on that one and now I'm really looking forward to hearing what they do next. I know they are not doing the new one with Townsend as the producer, so I hope they can still capture the magic without his incredible studio prowess.