Reviews list for Embodyment - Embrace the Eternal (1998)

I stumbled over the debut album from Texas' Embodyment around 15 years ago while desperately trying to catch up on all of the great death metal releases I'd missed out on during my self-imposed, decade-long hiatus from the metal scene. "Embrace The Eternal" was reasonably well thought of in death metal circles at the time but Embodyment's remaining back catalogue seemed to be frowned upon for reasons I was unaware of so I went into the album with an open mind. I was also unaware of the links with Christianity & the early deathcore scene that now permeate the release & I honestly don't recall thinking I'd discovered the building blocks of a new genre with that experience either so this month's feature release nomination represents a good chance to reassess that position, particularly given the strong statements from our resident The Revolution devotee Andi.

"Embrace The Eternal" is a well-produced & executed record from a band that were already well in control of their chosen instruments. In fact, they can occasionally be guilty of being a little TOO precise to be honest as the weaker moments on the album do tend to sound like they're in autopilot & lacking a bit of electricity. The clinical production is led by a particularly clicky kick-drum so if that element is something you usually struggle with then I'd perhaps give this release a wide birth. In saying that though, current Living Sacrifice drummer Mark Garza is arguably the highlight of the record with his super-precise performance giving Embodyment a particularly solid platform to work off. I mean, clicky kick drums can be very unforgiving at times but here we see Garza pulling everything off effortlessly. Front man Kris McCaddon's contribution isn't your average deep death metal or deathcore growl though. Instead, we see him sporting a screamier approach that sits right at the mid-point between Carcass' Jeff Walker & the classic metalcore delivery. He tends to be a bit of a one-trick pony on the evidence here too as he really does stick to the one thing the whole way through the album's duration.

Now for the elephant in the room... Despite "Embrace The Eternal" being claimed as one of the founding releases for the deathcore genre, I have to question that consensus. You see, there is nothing terribly unusual or original here from an instrumental point of view. This is purely a death metal record from that perspective with Suffocation being the primary source of inspiration. As someone that absolutely worshipped (& at times sought to emulate) that wonderful band, it's really obvious that Embodyment were also bowing down at the altar of "Effigy of the Forgotten", even if they do tend to shy away from Suffocation's more technical side & aren't nearly as brutal. The regular use of breakdowns is certainly worth mentioning but they don't seem to be drawn from the hardcore scene as far as I can tell, instead being borrowed from the early slam death metal one. Unlike Suffocation though, Embodyment's death metal sound has as much to do with your classic old-school death metal model as it does with the brutal death metal one & you should be able to pick up the influence of bands like Morbid Angel at times too. Then during the second half of the album we start to see some more diverse influences seeping in with the odd Fear Factory groove or jumpy Korn-style nu metal section appearing. While that idea might not sound all that appealing on paper, Embodyment seem to have the class to pull it off nonetheless. It's really just the vocals that draw upon hardcore for inspiration though as the instrumentation can basically be summarized under the death metal banner &, even then, McCaddon's tone isn't even close to the super-gutteral, ultra-deep death growl employed by most deathcore front men these days. Therefore, I struggle to see how "Embrace The Eternal" is a seminal deathcore release to be honest. If it's just the vocals that draw it into that space then Carcass' "Heartwork" would surely suffer the same fate & that idea certainly isn't on the table.

With that said, "Embrace The Eternal" is a very solid extreme metal album in its own right with no weak tracks included. There's a clear consistency to the ten songs & the Christian lyrical content will have absolutely no impact on you unless you go out of your way to investigate what McCaddon is going on about. I personally choose not to & are much better off for it given my strong feelings about organised religion in general. I'd recommend that our The Horde members leave any preconceived notions at the door & give "Embrace The Eternal" a chance to win them over because it's really a very solid first-up effort & one that will have you pondering over how Embodyment's next record could possibly fall into the realm of our The Gateway clan.

Welcome to the proper start of deathcore! While this is the one genre many people, especially extreme metalheads, hated the most, you don't wanna miss out on the real gems. Some of the best are the ones who pioneered the genre, and bands like Eighteen Visions and Prayer for Cleansing helped out in the genre's development. Before this album, deathcore barely existed. Some death metal bands like Suffocation and Obituary would remain key influences to that destructive future, and Damaged and Deformity tested out hardcore elements in their own attempt at creating the genre. However, one band that really kickstarted deathcore is Embodyment!

Something interesting is the band's Christian background that was highly unusual in death metal at that time. Whether you're fan of Christian metal or death metal/core, Embrace The Eternal is a must-listen, containing influences from Suffocation, Morbid Angel, and for the idea of Christian death metal, Mortification. Kris McCaddon has done great primal vocal work, and would've made the band more popular and staying in their deathcore sound if he didn't leave the band.

"20 Tongues" starts with an excerpt of a speech from a preacher, starting with a chant of "Hallelujah!", then the deathcore action begins alongside McCaddon's snarls. "Breed" showcases lyrics of Christian struggles through beliefs ("Falling to my knees a servant unto Christ in this world of disease"). "Swine" swings through like a pendulum.

For "Blinded", if you combine the metalcore of Converge at that time with the Christian death metal of Mortification, that killer track would be it. One song re-recorded from an earlier demo is "Religious Infamy" with brutal growls from Bruce Fitzhugh of Living Sacrifice. "Strength" is definitely a strong highlight. "Golgotha" is another song re-recorded from a demo. It really stays true to the deathcore sound this album has spawned, and is one of the best here.

"Carnival Chair" is as sinister as a creepy carnival clown, in a good way. The ultimate climax is in "Embrace" where, at a 3-minute mark, a mid-paced melodic yet dissonant riff plays that alone would be the big bang for bands like Suicide Silence, Whitechapel, and maybe even Knocked Loose. Then it all ends with the ominous outro "Rm 144".

Embrace the Eternal is a far more interesting start of deathcore than those two 1997 albums I've reviewed. Unfortunately, their 3 subsequent albums embraced a melodic alt-metal/rock sound, getting softer album after album until they split after the 4th. Members of the original lineup would later start a short-lived project, The Famine. Anyway, it's this album that would fully pioneer deathcore and set the stage for bands like Despised Icon and Suicide Silence. An underrated gem for a new deathly beginning!

Favorites: "20 Tongues", "Blinded", "Strength", "Golgotha", "Embrace"