As soon as I found that out, my excitement jumped. I loved how heavy Emery sounded on “Walls” from their debut album and on most of In Shallow Seas We Sail, so hearing them state that this album would be their heaviest to date had me quite hopeful – and Emery did not disappoint.
“The Cheval Glass”, the first single and album opener, kicks things off with a bang. Josh Head’s screams are just as strong as they were the first time I listened to “Walls”. Toby has stepped up to full lead vocalist and he has no trouble filling that slot, in addition to holding some guitar duties. Matt Carter hasn’t lost his touch on the guitar, Head keeps working the keyboards nicely, and Dave Powell does a great job on the drums. Track two is “Scissors”, which continues the pattern of mixing Head’s screams with Toby’s impeccable singing voice. Carter has fallen in line with the heavier sound and is obviously comfortable with it. “Anchors” has a slightly atmospheric opening with Toby singing, soft guitars fading in and out, and Powell hammering away on the toms before the screams layer over the melody for a beautiful contrast. Things appear to slow down a little more with “The Curse of Perfect Days”. Clean guitars paired with Toby’s vocals provide a short diversion from Emery’s newfound sound. It is only a short diversion, as the track kicks into full post-hardcore mode for the duration.
“You Wanted It” might have the heaviest intro Emery has ever written. Discordant guitars, Head’s screams, and pummeling drums hit you hard before Toby’s cleans come back. However, his melodic style vocals pair nicely with the hard-hitting feel of the track. Josh Head’s screams really get a workout on this album, more so than anything they’ve ever written, and “I'm Not Here For Rage I'm Here For Revenge” makes sure to keep him on top of his game. “Daddy’s Little Peach” has a little alt/pop-rock flair to its verses, but the chorus reverts back to their new sound. They continue meshing the alt-rock sound with the post-hardcore with “Addicted to Bad Decisions” for yet another catchy track. The last two tracks on the standard edition slow things down considerably. Both “I Never Got to See the West Coast” and “Fix Me” (which was written by Devin Shelton before he left the band) take on an indie/acoustic form. This transition closes things up nicely for the regular version of the album.
“Crumbling” uses Emery’s full repertoire of tricks to give you a track that is definitely a welcome addition to the album. The second bonus track is just an acoustic version of “The Curse of Perfect Days”, which gives the song a very different atmosphere.
Emery’s newfound heavy sound is more than welcome in my opinion. They’d hinted at it in previous albums and songs, but with their backing by Solid State, we can hope that they keep moving in this style. Be sure to pick up We Do What We Want.
A bit of synthesizer courtesy of “Count Seth” Hecox and a small choir lead us in to this album, as the drums, manned by Brent “Duck” Duckett, bass, helmed by vocalist Jason Wisdom, and guitar, wielded by Daniel Gailey are added to the mix before “The Resonant Frequency of Flesh” fades out. “Magnetic Sky” kicks in right away with a dual guitar onslaught of Count Seth and Daniel before Jason’s growls come into the picture. Seth and Daniel also provide the clean vocals on the album, and they do a magnificent job of it, especially in this song. You’ll have it stuck in your head for days after the first listen. They move to a little more death metal influenced style with “Internal Illumination”. Guitars, synth, bass, and drums all form the perfect setting for Jason’s brutal growls. And just to sweeten the deal, the breakdown at the end of the song feels like a throwback to the old school Solid State Records roster. “Path of the Beam” proves that BtA has a knack for writing some of the catchiest intros in metal. Some excellent work on the guitar by Daniel and Seth and Count’s keyboard accents complement the duo’s clean vocals throughout the track.
This brings us to the first instrumental track: “Music of the Spheres: Requiem Aeternam I”. Count Seth takes the lead on the piano for this beautiful piece. The brutal comes back in “Elemental Wrath: Requiem Aeternam II” with a single guitar and kick drum preparing the way for the brutality that is to come. Jason brings up the vocoder to give his screams a robotic/electronic tinge that works really well with this track. “Xenosynthesis: Requiem Aeternam III” brings us to the end of the “Requiem Aeternam” saga with a great death metal song that’s heavy on the atmospheric synth and even has a beautiful soprano part. “Invisible Creature” is the other instrumental on Celestial Completion, and it will catch you off guard. It’s got a Middle Eastern feel to it and is led by a sitar. However, it leads perfectly into my absolute favorite track on the album “Cardiac Rebellion”. Jason moves back to the vocoder for the verses, and the boys of BtA pull some gang vocals for the chorus, which you will be shouting along to in no time. You also get just a hint of trombone mixed in. Just after the halfway mark, they switch to some clean guitar work before moving into a full-blown bluesy swing piece, complete with trombone and a wicked lead guitar part. “Reflect/Refract” moves back to a more traditional progressive death sound, and they close with “Breathing Light”, a powerhouse of a song with beautiful lead guitar work, synth that complements the music perfectly and a brilliant combination of growls and singing with some gang vocals tossed in for good measure.
Becoming the Archetype has done it again. They’ve crafted a musical masterpiece that shows growth and a desire to really push the limits of the music scene. Celestial Completion is an epic journey that no one should miss out on. I know it will definitely be returning to my playlist again and again.
