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From the very start of this new Embodyment album, you can tell it's going to be quite a different ride then last time. Is it heavy? Well, yes, but not close to what we heard on "Embrace the Eternal". Exit Kris McCaddon and insert Sean Corbay at lead vocals and you have a much different band. The instrument playing is still great, the production is excellent, but the direction at times is miles away from what the band was known for. "Winter Kiss" starts if off with a heavy but subdued song with clean vocals, which are a far cry from the deathly vocals of the last album. Sean does, however, a fine job with the vocal duties. He does the clean vocals, but also does the hardcore vocals at times, reminisent of his hardcore past. "Pendelum" takes it up a notch in the heavy department and mixes up the clean and hardcore vocals. The next two songs really slow things down, which will most definitely turn off some past Embodyment fans, but I myself think they are two of the best songs on the album. "One Less Addiction" and "Greedy Hands" do have a heavy edge, but I think the clincher is the emotion felt in Sean's vocals. Something often absent from "Embrace the Eternal". "Greedy Hands" also shows us some very good background vocals. "Assembly Line Humans" is the first song that really brings back memories of the Embodyment we all grew to love. It seems like some of the songs on this album were written before Kris left in anticipation of another heavy record like, "Assembly Line Humans" and "Ballad". Makes you wonder if they just wanted to hurry up and get an album out instead of writing a few more songs and getting a more consistent feel. Yes, the whole album is done well, but it makes it hard to tell which direction they want to go. Two other very good songs are "Killing the Me in Me" and "Critical Error". These songs are very heavy and mix the clean and hardcore vocals. "One Less Addiction" shows up here again as an acoustic version. Very well done, it may be even better than the original version. The lyrics at times are very good and are well written, but at other times they leave you wondering what the point of the song was. Lyrical standouts for me would be "One Less Addiction", "Critical Error", and "The Aftermath of Closure". I've heard many complaints that this new version of Embodyment sounds like a copy of the Deftones. I have no idea what the Deftones sound like so I'll skip that debate. Overall, a good album. No bad songs that make you want to push skip. I miss the old Embodyment personally, although I'll still give this album plenty of play. Regardless of which album you like best, most will agree that Embodyment is very talented and will put forth a professional effort. What is left undetermined is which style they'll try next time. (Review by Matt)
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