Search - Beyond the Embrace :: Insect Song

Thrashcore at its Finest

Barry Dejasu | Rehoboth, Massachusetts | 05/23/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"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!"

3.5 Stars... OK but nothing special.

meh | 07/20/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"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."

More talent than most metal bands today

satan | uncasville,ct | 12/16/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"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"."