Customer Reviews

Insect Song

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Numetal is dead...and thrashcore has arisen. Bands like Shadows Fall, Killswitch Engage, (the new) Chimaira, DevilDriver, and others are driving rusty nails right into numetal's coffin. Then there's the more advanced territory...where avante-garde bands like Beyond the Embrace emerge and blow even their fellow bands away.

Perhaps the most immediately obvious feature about Beyond the Embrace is their lineup, which includes THREE guitarists. Yes, this has been done before, many times (just look at Iron Maiden, or for a lesser-known 3-guitar band, Brand New Sin), but it is to find a band that has such tight musicianship as this one, without sounding bogged down with showing off their extra member/instrument. Beyond the Embrace doesn't just have three guitarists, but they really UTILIZE all of them.

Oscar Gouveiar and Alex Botelho both play leads and rhtyhms, and Jeff Sauder plays strictly rhythm (but hopefully one day he will lead, also!). I'll just state my one problem with them right now: THEY DON'T CREDIT THE LEADS. This is especially unfortunate, because unlike Iron Maiden, many of the leads and solos sound very similar to each other, and it is hard to differentiate playing styles. However, that hardly affects their actual performances, which are simply KILLER. Each song sports endless riffs, leads, harmonies, solos - the works! The heavier riffs crunch with thick heaviness, and the leads can be dazzling or shredding. And speaking of Iron Maiden (once again), Gouveiar and Botelho often harmonize their leads, creating unearthly notes that are just...something else. Great melodies, too. A most powerful trio.

Shawn Gallagher is a very talented vocalist. He can sing (with an average, albeit well-performed) voice; he can scream with a hardcore growl that could give Bjorn "Speed" Strid (of Soilwork) a run for his money. He often performs with sort of "in-between" vocals reminiscent of LOAD-era James Hetfield (sorry for the comparison!), as well.

Adam Gonsalves is just your average bassist...possibly the only "average" member of the band. He keeps a steady rhythm that well backs-up the riffs, and works well with the drumming of Kevin Camille. Kevin, on the other hand, might not be all that GREAT on drums (he mostly keeps uncomplicated rhythms), but he's fast and steady, utilizing lots of double-bass kicks that perfectly complement Beyond the Embrace's heavy sound.

I just picked the album up yesterday, and have only gotten one chance to listen to it, but I can tell already that it's this good. Each song is powerfully effective in and of itself, reminiscent of the hardcore sounds of bands like Killswitch Engage or Shadows Fall, but with far more advanced guitar playing. Well, no, not advanced...DIFFERENT. I might post another review sometime, strictly for the songs. Oh, and although there are 10 songs listed, only 9 are actual SONGS; "Ashes" is a short but sweet semi-acoustic instrumental ballad that is simply beautiful.

Beyond the Embrace is thrashcore at its finest, and with INSECT SONG, it shows.

And "Yay," I was the first reviewer!

Beyond The Embrace is basically another of the "we're a simplistic/sloppy version of thrash meets melody" bands. They are not especially good for the genre, not especially bad either. The use of a more old school thrash vocalist makes them sound more like Metallica than most of the "New Wave of American Metal" (even though it is just a dumbed down ripoff of the scandinavian metal scene). The downtuned guitars lack the intensity to give them credit in that area, and they don't have melody to even come close to early In Flames or Soilwork, and in basically every other area they are topped by at least one band.

Fans of the genre will probably find Beyond the Embrace entertaining, but there are many better bands.

I would suggest checking out these albums before listening to them:
Anything by Metallica
The Haunted - Revolver
Soilwork - A Predator's Portrait
In Flames - Clayman or earlier
Mastodon - Leviathan
Any of the late 80s/early 90s thrash metal bands.

beyond the embrace are the latest to come out of the new england metal scene,and sound like they've been around for awhile lots of pure talent here people,this is just the beginning of what metal bands should sound like,also check out their first cd "against the elements".

Beyond the Embrace- Insect Song (2004)

1. Fleshengine Breakdown *****
2. Plague *****
3. My Fall *****
4. Of Every Strain ****
5. Redeemer *****
6. Insect Song *****
7. Ashes *****
8. Weak and the Wounded ****
9. Absent *****
10. Within ****

Standouts:
Fleshengine Breakdown
Plague
My Fall
Redeemer
Insect Song
Ashes

These songs display influences from classic thrash, In Flames-ish melodic death, and even classical on the instrumental Ashes. Perfect songs!

Weak points:
Of Every Strain would be better if there were some non-growling vocals thrown in, and Weak and the Wounded would be stronger if the verses were more driving.

Bottom Line:
This is the perfect album for fans of thrash, melodic death, or both. There are other genres that show up periodically, but I'll let you discover them for yourself. Fantastic album!

Rating:
9/10
I guess that would be 4.5 stars, but I'll give it 5 anyway.

Great playing by every member and very similar to Metallica! That alone is enough to buy it. This is exactly what I look for in an album. It's both heavy and melodic with plenty of bass like the 80's pioneers. BTE is the archetypal metal band of the 21st century. I look forward to seeing them develop even more.

This does sound alot like Metallica. I went to their concert last night with Amorphis and Into Eternity and I didn't really notice but when I heard this album it sounded VERY similar to Metallica. I like it and all, but I think the should find their own sound instead of ripping off Metallica. 7.6/10

I've seen these guys twice in concert, before and after the release of this album. I enojyed listening to "Against The Elements" and was wondering what they'd do to keep things interesting. After hearing some of the new material live before buying the album, I knew they threw in influences from outside the Gothenburg-Metallica amalgam that made them a band to look out for.

The very first track throws in a more rock'n'roll-type groove, and later tracks show their awareness of other genres besides melodic death metal. Unfortunately, it sounds exactly like they "threw in" breakdown riffs just to see if the crowd would get into it. The drumming sounds a lot more "on" this time around and the vocalist has obviously broadened his chops. Kudos to the two of them for marked improvement in the studio and on stage.

This album doesn't actively suck and it will do for now, but this is not going to be an album the metal subculture will remember by any means. I hope they try harder to cement their own niche next time around instead of making baby steps towards bandwagon-hopping. What really gets me is that I know the band is capable of writing more coherent and engaging material. I thought the last track off of "Against The Elements" was a great mix of ideas that could have been explored further to a hell of an effect. Instead, all I got was just this feeling of "I've heard this all before."

Maybe next album they'll get it right. Hopefully we'll get a real instrumental this time around, too.

I first found out about this band from an amazon.com recommendation, so I checked out some mp3s and was very impressed. This band has 3 guitarists, and utilizes them all very well. The rest of the album is just as good. Picture Kirk Hammett from Metallica meets Anders Friden from In Flames, plus some other heavy riffs. There is one instrumental track called "Ashes" that is great, reminds me of Casting Shade by Shadows Fall. Other standout tracks are Redeemer and Absent. There aren't any songs I dislike, but my least favorite is "My Fall." Insect Song lacks a bit of originality with the heavy Metallica and In Flames sound, but hell I can't come up with better solos yet.

If you like old school Metallica mixed with some In Flames and Iron Maiden, then this band is for you. I can't think of why these guys are not headlining tours by now. Insect Song and Beyond the Elements are both 5 star albums, and if you like melodic, thrash, death, then this is the band for you. Trust me, listen and give it a try.

It's great that there are still bands that play metal instead of "_____core." BTE is certainly one of them. Great vocals and guitar, solid rhythm section, BTE is definitely one of the leaders in modern metal. They're truly refreshing amid the flury of "crapcore" that's flooding the metal mainstream. My favorite song on the album is the title track, "Insect Song," but every song kicks ass. All killer, no filler!

Also check out:
Shadows Fall
Mastodon
Into Eternity
3 Inches of Blood
Evergrey
Twelfth Gate