EMBRACED “An Orchestrated Failure”
It’s really easy to gripe about bands not being original in hardcore, but come on, don’t ya love it when you can listen to something and identify different parts that sound familar to other bands you dig? On its own footing, EMBRACED’s release, “An Orchestrated Failure” is pretty top-notch with great sound production, a huge amount of musical talent, a vocalist that seriously knows the postive aspects of screaming and singing, an drummer that’s fucking relentless behind the kit. But the real beauty with this band to me at least is picking out the parts where I hear strong influences from STRETCH ARMSTRONG, POISON THE WELL, and an intro to one song that’s identical to one from THURSDAY’s epic, “Full Collapse.” I’ve never had a problem with a band showing off their influences if they could meld into their own special offering, so EMBRACED certainly deserves the golden-star. With “An Orchestrated Failure,” the only downfall is that many of the songs approach five or six minutes, with one particularly bruising song pushing 7:30 minutes…the result of an-all-out-mosh-jam-fest. It’s hard to complain against enthralling music, but at that length, things just gets a little repetitive. Typical to the genre, a darkness pervades the music, but EMBRACED are bigger than resorting to using relationship failures as a crutch for inadequate songwriting. Although none of the eight songs will ever be labeled as “catchy” it’s quite easy to wrap one’s mind around this release, and EMBRACED plow with a kind of spirit that’s difficult to ignore. Highly Recommended.
Theory 8 Records
