Apparently Rocky Gray and Lance Garvin cannot get enough of the Metal from just playing in Living Sacrifice. Their compulsion is our good fortune, when it takes the 100% Pure Metal form of Soul Embraced. The production is so sharp on For the Incomplete, that their songs actually feel metallic - every string piercing the ear, and every drum beat pinging beneath the thunder. Speed breakdowns interrupt dropping chugs, which in turn submit to some mighty tech-thrash. Musically, it's how you would have expected Metallica and Megadeth to evolve, if they hadn't wussed out. And the most striking element of Soul Embraced's song writing is the dominant presence and triumphant return of the guitar solo. Normally that phrase would be used in derision, I suppose, just because of how self-indulgent and inappropriate they became in their hey-day, but Rocky Gray knows how to show off without being annoying. His solos actually have a point to them - they are an integral part of the song, a bridge across troubled waters, or the troubled water itself. The vocals are mighty, disciplined growls, but I almost never notice them. Either because I am so caught up in the flat out amazing technical musicianship, or because they are mixed to perfection, becoming just another instrument of holy destruction. Whatever the case may be, I can't help but feel that if there were ever a Metal band that could lose their vocalist and shine anyway, this is that band. I found my attention slipping a couple times during the record, but for the most part I was literally on the edge of my seat, waiting to see how Soul Embraced was going to pummel or transport me next.
Other coverage for this album
Art for the Ears 2001Reviewed by Marco PovervestSoul Embraced is a trio consisting of two members of Living Sacrifice (Lance Garvin & Rocky Gray) and vocalist Chad Moore. The music on this record is what Living Sacrifice might have sounded like today if they hadn't strayed away from their death metal path in the mid nineties. Yes, Soul Embraced is death metal and sounding pretty good too. This disc contains 11 songs of which four are…The Phantom Tollbooth 2001Reviewed by Josh SpencerI've been playing Gauntlet: Dark Legacy on Playstation 2 this past week, and you know how as your character gains levels, becomes more powerful, and finds items, he/she starts looking more and more formidable? New armor, bigger weapons, a more confident swagger. That's what Soul Embraced is like. I mean, at their core they're still old school death metal, but two of the guys in the band (Living…Similar sounding releases
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