Reviewed by Peter John Willoughby

Soul Embraced return with their brutal and intense brand of death metal after a five year break. This time around the band is made up of Rocky Gray (lead guitar) and Lance Garvin (drums) from Living Sacrifice, with Chad Moore (vocals), Jeff Bowie (bass) and Devin Castle (guitar) to complete the line-up. Furthermore, the album has been superbly produced by Barry Poynter (Living Sacrifice, Zao). They have moved on from 'Immune' and have gone for the melodic death metal sound. The intro "To End It All" has doleful church bells and acoustic guitar before unleashing the thrashy, riffing guitars. The lyrics are bound to unsettle, but you have to bear in mind that this is for the death metal scene and will not be suitable for an impressionable young teenager. It is aimed at the more mature listener who can fully appreciate this genre. Listen out for the low growling/rasping/hissing vocals as they deliver "Will this be the day I end it all, end it all?/My hate for life around my neck/I want to live but I've forgotten how/My God, is it too late?" From then onwards there is a dual onslaught of guitars with relentless shredding riffs. Just when you think that you know what's going to come next, in "Crawl" there are actually some clear vocals. And during "In Memory" there is an acoustic instrumental. If you regularly listen to Living Sacrifice you will find this has a more experimental sound.

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