| | Full Review | Ratings (321) |
Give your Rating |
| 4.0 excellent | jrowa001 | November 23rd 08 |
their best so far! i love every minute. seems like it has a longer lasting power than their previous two. plus Devin Townsend adds so much to the production. The physics of Fire's production was a little too clean and it hurt the raw aggression that was found on Terminate Damnation. Dev definitely brought that aggression back, but with more progression and technicality. they break away from the scream-sing-scream-sing formula they were heading towards. the scream on this are the best theyve done. awesome riffs. drums are great. i love the style of keys that Dev brought to the table. the second the album starts with Mountain of Souls, you can hear the style of keys that are present in many of Dev's solo albums. this came late in the year but theres no doubt this will be among my top 15 or 20 of 08.
4 Bumps | Bump |
| 2.5 average | Tyler EMERITUS | November 24th 08 |
So far so bland. On one listen this comes off as a Christian blend between God Forbid at their best and In Flames at their worst. And you can't ignore the often goofy synth work that typically leads to the same formulaic song structure, e.g: goofy keyboard riff....pause...chugga chugga version of prior goofy keyboard riff.
3 Bumps | Bump |
| 0.0 | WhiteWallStargazers | January 7th 09 |
I have been a fan of Becoming the Archetype since i first heard the crushing guitar and ambient sounds of Terminate Damnation. While that CD was an instant classic, their follow-up, The Physics of Fire was a let down in my mind.
The band drifted in and out of my conscious for quite a long time until I heard they were releasing a new album that was to be called Dichotomy. I was skeptical at first, but after hearing the bands early singles Dichotomy and Artificial Immortality, and being very very impressed, I decided to give Archetype another try.
At first listen I was blown away by the ferocity of tracks like Mountain of Souls and Ransom. This brought to mind some of the style they displayed in Terminate Damnation. What I didn't expect was the progressive elements that BTA decided to throw into the mix. Unlike Physics of Fire, these elements were not overwhelming, but instead gave the songs a balance and cohesion that Physics lacked. The acoustic track, St. Anne's Lullaby is solid as expected, and is the correct length for a track like this. Not too long as to bore the listener, but not to short to leave the audience hanging. Add in the rest of the album, with standout solid tracks like Self Existent, Deep Heaven, and the hymn remake, How Great Thou Art, and BTA has put together a truly great metal album.
Overall, Becoming the Archetype has managed to combine the elements of both Terminate Damnation and Physics of Fire to produce one of the better albums of 2008.
Pros:
--Great blend of metal and progressive
--Stellar production
--Catchy yet complex songwriting
Cons:
--Vocals can get a bit grating after awhille
2 Bumps | Bump |
| 0.0 | K. Prince | October 30th 09 |
A flawlessly produced marathon of slightly-cliched metal that succeeds on account of it's excellent vocal work and musicianship. Part of me knows that I really should think this album is average, but alas.
1 Bumps | Bump |
| 1.5 very poor | Raichuzilla used MEGA KICK! | September 10th 22 |
i remember seeing this shit praised to high heaven back in the day. they do get half a point for not having as much mccore, but its still mccore pretending not to be mccore and randomly adding some dm riffs (prob took them a century to learn them) and random violin or piano bits just make it incongruous af
Bump |
| 4.5 superb | sh9683 | March 1st 15 |
I actually really liked this album, probably the best album I have heard from them. from the sounds of the reviewer he made up his mind before even giving it a listen, and that clouded his entire review.
Bump |
| 3.0 good | BigTuna | October 7th 09 |
Crushing, heavy, br00tal, melodic. But not really progressive, and at times, quite boring. Some moments save it from falling into the two's, but I wanted more from this album.
Bump |
| 4.5 superb | stephenhannibal | December 18th 08 |
This is one their best albums... Jason has a voice that's tough as nails.
metal album of the year contender.
Bump |
| 4.0 excellent | anchors | June 14th 23 |
| 2.5 average | Zakusz | June 6th 22 |
| 4.0 excellent | TheGoni | April 25th 22 |
| 2.5 average | MAB | December 9th 21 |
| 2.5 average | benny06 | January 8th 20 |
| 4.0 excellent | jounik | December 30th 19 |
| 3.5 great | mEyck07 | November 24th 19 |
| 4.0 excellent | ryguy | November 8th 18 |
| 3.5 great | Lucman | September 17th 18 |
| 4.0 excellent | snakesc | September 12th 18 |
| 3.5 great | Oreon | January 11th 18 |
| 4.0 excellent | em17ah | April 20th 16 |
| 2.5 average | Andrew | April 18th 16 |
| 4.0 excellent | mEyck97 | October 11th 15 |
| 2.5 average | Smeg | June 12th 14 |
| 4.5 superb | Thibs | January 16th 14 |
| 3.0 good | Trey STAFF | January 9th 14 |
| 3.5 great | Zeg | December 8th 13 |
| 4.0 excellent | djken97 | December 2nd 13 |
| 5.0 classic | Benny20 | October 19th 13 |
| 3.5 great | Loot | August 26th 13 |
| 3.0 good | Legit | October 22nd 12 |
| 4.0 excellent | Parkway | September 22nd 12 |
| 3.5 great | Shvyin | March 1st 12 |
| 4.0 excellent | pike27 | January 20th 12 |
| 3.5 great | Shuyin | January 16th 12 |
| 2.5 average | Troggy | January 4th 12 |
| 5.0 classic | Xyrnos | December 11th 11 |
| 3.5 great | ILJ | August 6th 11 |
| 3.0 good | iZac | June 1st 11 |
| 3.5 great | YUJOS | February 23rd 11 |
| 3.5 great | Dev518 | November 10th 10 |
| 4.5 superb | iamGOZT | October 11th 10 |
| 2.5 average | cvlts | September 27th 10 |
| 3.0 good | Niels | September 24th 10 |
| 4.0 excellent | bgregab | August 9th 10 |
| 4.0 excellent | Guiltor | June 12th 10 |
| 3.5 great | vdop | April 22nd 10 |
| 4.0 excellent | GhostK | April 9th 10 |
| 4.0 excellent | heyadam | April 8th 10 |
| 3.5 great | met65 | January 30th 10 |
| 3.5 great | rid | January 26th 10 |
| 3.0 good | X3ni92 | January 21st 10 |
| 2.0 poor | pride | January 13th 10 |
| 3.5 great | JWT155 | January 2nd 10 |
| 3.5 great | quik40 | November 24th 09 |
| 4.0 excellent | kaleb | November 5th 09 |
| 4.0 excellent | Robewho | September 10th 09 |
| 4.0 excellent | cjgone | July 31st 09 |
| 4.0 excellent | DaTwig | March 19th 09 |
| 4.0 excellent | ziroth | February 16th 09 |
| 4.0 excellent | morjens | February 6th 09 |
| 5.0 classic | Emim | February 5th 09 |
| 3.5 great | Wongeh | January 17th 09 |
| 2.5 average | MrGlass | December 26th 08 |
| 4.0 excellent | MattRTS | December 23rd 08 |
| 3.5 great | zuzek | December 14th 08 |
| 2.5 average | kingsoby1 EMERITUS | December 4th 08 |
| 4.0 excellent | TheDrew | December 2nd 08 |
| 2.5 average | Mikesn EMERITUS | November 28th 08 |
| 2.5 average | pixmpy | November 26th 08 |
| 4.0 excellent | TBliss | November 26th 08 |
| 2.0 poor | benhxc | November 25th 08 |
| 2.5 average | Zoo | November 24th 08 |
| 4.0 excellent | Bea | November 23rd 08 |
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