Customer Reviews

Hold Your Breath

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Back in the day, there was 'Embrace the Eternal.' Having hearing just a few of the songs on embrace, I decided that, although I love hardcore, the album just wasn't energetic enough and was just missing somthing. Thus, I decided to close my ears to Embodyment. Big mistake. Years later, Embodyment comes to my Church to play a show. And I thought 'Oh well, I'll have fun chillin' with my friends.' I was pleasently suprised to see a harmonous, emotion-driven show. I was still skepticall, however, because so many bands sound so different when playing live. I chatted with them for a while, and decided to go ahed and buy this cd, as well as their new cd 'Songs for the Living' - which hasn't come out yet. What this is, is a very melodic, and emotional cd. This album portrays feelings of sadness, joy, anger, and many other emotional feelings. I still cant get over the great voice of the lead singer. A very musical cd, the album explores both soft and hard. No, this isn't hardcore like Embodyment's previous work, but an excellent poetic cd. I like their new style better, but even if you like their harder stuff better, you still have to respect these deep, and talented artists.

If you feel like only buying one of Embodyment's cd's, then wait for 'Songs for the Living' - It's worth the wait.

In my opinion embodyment has really hit the nail on the head with this album. The album is definately not as heavy as previous albums but its melodic aspects are excellent. Sean's vocals are outstanding and the drumming is superb, not to mention the many memorable guitar riffs. Those of you who enjoyed songs such as confessions and greedy hands from The Narrow Scope of Things will no doubt thoroughly enjoy this album as well.

Back in the days of early 2000's there was a growing christian metal scene, I've never seen anything like that since. There where great bands like Zao, Living Sacrifice, P.O.D., Blindside, Project 86 and then there was this band here EMBODYMENT.

Having started listening to them with "Embrace the Eternal" in my late teen years I think my taste in music evolution can be directly mirrored with the band's own evolution.

To me this album here represents their highest creative period. A more mature sound along with more mature view's of life reflected in the lyrics. I think at that period in my life I was ready to explore different music styles and beyond the whole "if it ain't screams and palm mutted riffs it ain't music" attitude and "Hold Your Breath" was the one disc that got me into that wonderful discovery path. I'll forever love this disc.

The first time i heard these dudes it was on an old Tooth and Nail sampler..i think it was "Songs From The Penalty Box 2" (circa 1998). Anyways the song they contributed was from their metal-core debut record called "Embrace the Eternal". Embodyment sounded ALOT different back then and i have to admit that i wasn't exactly too fond of their sound. Ok so flash forward to summer of 2001, i buy yet another compilation album which was called "This is Solid State Vol. 3". This time they had the song Belly Up from this album. The first thing i couldn't beleive was how much they had changed their sound..and how much better of a band they were because of it. This album saw Embodyment go from an all-but-amazing metal-core outfit to a pretty sweet alternative metal band. The thing i really love is the meaty guitars, the undelying melodies and the amazing crooning of the singer. His voice is angelic, soaring and powerfull all at the same time, which compliments the music VERY well. All of the songs on this record are worth hearing so dont Hold Your Breath, just buy this cd!

Embodyment has covered a whole new spectrum in a world of dead rock 'n' roll. They have brought back a passion and energy that is lacking in many major rock acts. I believe "Hold Your Breath" is only the beginning. Look for an even more incredible release coming up. Nonetheless, if you buy one album in 2002, let this be it.

So i like the new album alot but the thing is, almost every song sounds the same with different variations. It is still a quality buy, but i just think that Narrow scope of things to come was more creative and better sounding.

This new release is a nice change from the last release. The main difference is the lack of screaming. This is their last release with the current label, but that did not limit them. The lyrics are poetic and entertaining. They hit like deftones with much better singing. I wish they acknowledged Christ a bit more in their lyrics and bio, but they are trying to spread the good news in their own way. Remember that the Kingdom is accessible to all who believe in Jesus Christ.

This is an absolutely incredible CD:
1. The lead singer Sean has an amazing voice. If there was someone scratching a chalk board with their fingernails backing him up he would still sound good, but fortunately
2. What if a death metal band went alternative? That's basically what Embodyment has done. But I don't find this CD alternative in the boring sense at all. It's just incredible music. Listen to the samples to see what I am talking about. To quote one of my friends it's almost like, "Lenny Kravitz with hard guitars." Plus the drummer and bass player are extremely tight. They have gotten even better since the last CD, "The Narrow Scope of Things." Some people will say that HYB is not as varied as TNSOT because there are no screaming songs, but screaming would just awkwardly break the album up. In a way I don't really think that that is what Embodyment is all about now.
3. The lyrics: Some people may say that Embodyment may sound kind of emo-ish now, but I heavily disagree. Not only do I think that they don't sound emo-ish, but there are also no whiny,"My girl left and now I'm sad and want to cry" lyrics. Embodyment's songs are like really clever poems put to music, with really cool lines like, "a caffeine rush for tears of joy, I'll carve the beef and spare you later" from Binge and Purge.

I would recommend this Cd to anyone who likes good music. If you liked the last CD you will probably like this one, and if you have never heard Embodyment before you should give them a listen. I think you will be surprised.

Too end this rant my favorite songs are: Belly Up, Heaven in a Letterbomb, A Season's End, and Cruise Control, but to be perfectly honest I like them all.

Embodyment has been focused on alot because of how drastically they changed their style from embrace the eternal to the narrow scope of things. Thats Old news now, but their newest release shows that they are determined for a bigger audience and bigger record label. They are now straight up melody in a very Staind and Deftones type of way. That is not a comparison by the way.

The narrow scope of things was experimental in many ways, and it seems really "all over the place" but had some great moments but seemed a bit mono-tone as a whole and could put ya to sleep if you were in the mood. Now they feel more focused and comfortable with their new sound and obviously don't care who they surprise, they will do it their way and if ppl don't like it, they don't care.

This does sound different from Narrow Scope, not just because their is no screaming but the melodies are really different, not as down beat but not really THAT up beat to be considered anything in the pop-rock genre. There are many surprising songs such as "yours truly", "heaven in a letter bomb", and "K-9". They are trying out different things, and it really seems to be working for them. Sean's vocals are really great, its both soothing and confidant. The lyrics are very ambigous and vague, but they sound cool and have nice phrases that you will keep singing over and over again.

The only problems with it, because while its great, its not perfect. Its only a measly 36 minutes long. While its a pretty damn fun 36 minutes, it seems like they could have done so much more. I personally think they are in a rush to finish their contract with SolidState (with this their third and final release for the label) and wanted to make a great record, but I feel they are holding back the AWESOME stuff for when they hit that big record label contract. So don't pay more then 12 dollars for this album. And lastly all the tracks are great but its very anti-climactic. The songs don't seem to lead into a big finale, rather its ten tracks that could have been put in any order. In narrow scope it felt like it was LEADING upto something greatand finished with a great six minute track.This just started and ended pretty oddly.

All in all a great effort. They definetly hit the mark for what they wanna do with their music. Its hauntingly beautiful, the vocals are awesome, the melodies while very different are catchy and have nice hooks and riffs. Can't wait to see them hit it big.

I've listened to this album plenty of times, so I'll go through each song one by one.

Yours truly: 10/10. The opening track to this album is explosive and makes God the center point. I love the lyric "I want to know you'll suffer to rest in peace"

Belly up 10/10. again. Great song. Very poetic. The best is the drum solo toward the tail end.

Decade late: 10/10. Slow song (kind of) but the lyrics are the center point. "Exchange values for self indulgence"

K-9: 9/10 the lyrics are a bit odd. I can't figure out the exact message of the song. But there are still great lines "but you my guardian angel pull me through"

Set the stage: 9/10 I think this song is about a break up or somebody just pretending to like someone they're dating. "Your lipstick matches your dark intentions"

Heaven in a letter bomb: 8/10 explosive music. Great rhythm. Kind of like k-9, I can't figure out the meaning. But still has great one-liners.

Seasons end: 5/10 I do tend to skip this song. The music seems slow but it really isn't, the music seems fast, but it really isn't. Make up your mind!

Binge and purge: 10/10 "paper money is your soul" great line. Energetic like k-9 and yours truly

Moving on: 10/10 I'm pretty sure this song resembles the prodigal son.

Cruise control: 10/10 "You're losing direction and stoning your friends" I'm guessing this is about a backsliding Christian friend. It's slow but the chorus is almost haunting during the lines "we'll go away"