|
| |
|
|
|
Review Summary: Ember takes few risks, playing to Breaking Benjamin’s strengths with little experimentation, producing a work that is solid yet similar in sound. Consistency is an apt description for Breaking Benjamin’s sixteen-year discography, with similar stylistic choices shared across it, playing to the strengths of the band’s grunge-esque style. With bands often receiving criticism for turning mainstream as they mature, it would be reasonable to expect Ember to contain a collection of radio-friendly rock, simple ballads, and a skimpy sprinkling of heaviness in a meandering progression towards mediocrity. Ultimately however, the group has made an active decision to stick to their guns, further embracing the sound that has made them into a household name. It is the decision to develop their sound, rather than abandon it, that allows Ember to stand out among Breaking Benjamin’s catalogue of albums, while at the same time limiting the album in its exploration and variation.
Heavy, aggressive guitar riffs and harsh vocals punctuate Ember, more so than in any of the previous albums. In many ways it seems to call back to the group’s most successful song, “The Diary of Jane”, where songs burst into angst-filled choruses and Burnley sings (or screams) with raw emotion. Tracks such as “Tourniquet”, “Psycho”, and “Blood” are all prime examples of this format, sure to become fan-favourites, especially when performed in front of raucous crowds. In this however lies the album’s largest problem, as this heavy sound becomes overwhelming, leading songs to bleed together and sound rather similar. With almost every track on Ember relying on well-worn song structures and guitar riffs that sound eerily similar, the album lacks a sense of variety. Ultimately this may be Ember’s biggest downfall, as it can begin to seem that Burnley & Co. had a singular vision for a song in mind and attempted to hit that same track out of the park over and over again.
There is however one respite to this onslaught through “The Dark of You”, sandwiched in the middle of the album, providing a literal break from the storm, with aptly placed thunder effects leading into the song. Sticking out among the rest of Ember, this track is likely to be polarizing among listeners. On its own, it is a fantastic change of pace for the group, well paced atmospherically with a dark and brooding electronic undertone and build-up that threatens to give way to a wall of chaos at any point, but restrains from doing so. It is a style that seems unlike Ember, but that the group absolutely succeeds at. The issue however is that the track is forced to stand alone, with nothing else on Ember remotely close to it, causing it to feel out of place and somewhat jarring stylistically. There are no other slow songs, or even ballads to work with, and Ember would benefit greatly from further exploration down the road that “The Dark of You” paves.
By mentioning these issues with variation, it would be easy to overlook how solid the album is in achieving its goal for a ‘heavier’ sound. As mentioned earlier, while the album is filled to the brim with aggression and energy, melodic elements are not overlooked with tracks such as “Close Your Eyes” and “Save Yourself” neatly building up to well-designed melodic choruses. “Save Yourself” in particular is a successful endeavour that uses harsh vocals to set the stage for a passionate chorus. Ember may not be groundbreaking, but it certainly is reliable and listeners already familiar with the general sound of Breaking Benjamin will almost certainly find something to love here.
In the ever-present dilemma between changing one’s signature sound or staying with the tried and true, Ember is a representation of the latter, producing an album fans of the band are sure to love. However, in doing so the album falls somewhat flat, with multiple attempts at the same song structure and “The Dark of You” representing the only (rather successful) attempt at changing pace, tempting listeners with another side of what Ember could have been. Ember is an enjoyable album nonetheless, improving on an already well-established formula to produce a final product filled with exactly what is expected from Breaking Benjamin and nothing more, and in this case that may be exactly what is needed.
Recommended Tracks: “Blood”, “Torn in Two”, “The Dark of You”
| other reviews of this album |
|
Album Rating: 2.0
This reeeeaaaaallllyyyyy needs to stop being reviewd.
| | | Album Rating: 2.0
This gets a review every week. That's why I haven't touched it. It's the same boring stuff Breaking Benjamin has been putting out since 2009. What's so great about it?
| | | Album Rating: 4.0 | Sound Off
Great album. Tourniquet, Psycho, Down, and Close Your Eyes are my favorites. Yea it has that same formula but this album was exactly what they needed to do to keep the Breaking Benjamin train rolling and they did it.
| | | Album Rating: 2.0
I couldn't disagree more. There's a difference between consistency and innovation. This album does neither. It's an underwhelming, boring, and forgettable album that accomplishes nothing aside from reminding listeners the band still exists. It's not that music is bad. It's literally the same thing they've always done. The problem is how forgettable Embers is. It's so contrived and formulaic. That's worse than being down-right awful. At least a bad album can be remembered.
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
"It's an underwhelming, boring and forgettable album"
Funny, to me it was the exact opposite of boring and forgettable. Maybe I just like the genre and band more, but still... reading your comments, it's like we listened to different albums.
"It's the same boring stuff Breaking Benjamin has been putting out since 2009."
Did you actually ever like this band before, or are you just tired of what they've been doing?
| | | Album Rating: 2.0
I actually do like Breaking Benjamin quite a bit. I've been fortunate to see them live a couple times. My problem is that Breaking Benjamin haven't done anything interesting in the last couple years. I forgave Dark Before Dawn to an extent since it was their post-hiatus album and they did a similar style to before. The problem with Ember is that it's not doing or saying anything different than before. That's a problem to me because I can't take this band seriously if they're not going to evolve past their current standing. All it does is recycle the same sounds of Phobia and Dear Agony along with the same concepts of both the records. Every now an then we get a little hint at experimenting but nothing comes of it. It's fine if you like it, I just don't find myself interested in this at all.
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
Cool. I can understand being annoyed with their inability to evolve/experiment, even if I disagree that it makes the album a failure. Still, a 2 seems a tad harsh even with that... but whatever. Potato, potahto.
| | | Album Rating: 2.0
It's harsh, but not undeserving. I recently gave Prequelle a 4 because it was unique and innovative despite being self-indulgent. I gave Snail Mail's Lush a 3.5 because it was a strong debut album but not quite confident enough to take a big step. Although those albums have minor problems, they still make a statement that is worth listening. What does Ember do these albums don't do better? What statements does Ember make Breaking Benjamin and other bands haven't already done? What does Ember do to separate itself from every other album in 2018 and also stand apart from other Breaking Benjamin albums? I don't think it accomplishes much in those regards. Giving it a 2.5 would imply it's actually consistent with the music scene, but it's not. It's dated and dull to any sense of excitement. I don't feel fulfilled having listened to it. My initial thoughts were "eh, just another Benjamin record." After repeated listens, I just moved on. It's nothing special, so I rated it as such.
| | | Album Rating: 5.0
Nice to see another positive review for this. Honestly I'm with William. This is a much darker album from BB that somewhat harkens back to Saturate, but also stands out more screams, menacing soundscapes, bigger choruses, more complex, intricate riffing, and it just really gets me excited to hear it. That said, everybody won't love everything, and I strongly dislike Snail Mail and most indie. Suffice it to say, I felt EXTREMELY fulfilled hearing this.
| | | Album Rating: 3.0
Dear Agony was their last album worth listening to so far honestly for me. I saw them live a month back at Northern Invasion. They put on a fantastic show. It’s not that I dislike the band at all. Phobia, for example, is a 3.5 or 4 to me. Not 100% sure, only cause it’s been a few years since I spun it in whole but still. I just don’t personally find their musical niche interesting enough to warrant essentially the same album over and over. If it’s your thing though, I get it. I’m the same way with Amon Amarth.
| | | Album Rating: 2.0
You have every right to enjoy the album. I'm just explaining why I think the album is bad. Indie isn't for everyone and I completely understand why you wouldn't enjoy Lush. I'm glad you brought up riffing and soundscapes into the equation. I didn't think the soundscapes were that special. It's consistent with their other work. It has that 2000's digital effect, but it's slightly darker. I don't think its noteworthy, but it serves its purpose. The screams were well done as they usually are. Just because he used them more often doesn't change my opinion, but it's just the usual heavy Benjamin we're used to. Complexity is a bold statement. I don't think Breaking Benjamin were ever that complex. The riffs sound fancier, but they're not on par with Tool or Deftones in that regard. It's kinda similar to Chevelle's North Corridor, but that was a lot more experimental and dark compared to Ember.
| | | Album Rating: 2.5
DropTune, I do agree with you. But to compare Breaking Benjamin's "complexity" to Tool or Deftones is a bit of stretch. Obviously Breaking Benjamin doesn't reach that level of complexity, but it's got a more "complex" sound compared to their predecessors.
| | | Album Rating: 2.0
Yeah, I'll admit I was stretching a bit. North Corridor is in the ballpark of what Embers was going for. It is more complex than their previous material I guess, but even so, it doesn't bring much to the table. They weren't as innovative as they should of been.
| | | Album Rating: 2.5
Fully agree with that. Breaking Benjamin could've been much more innovative and at least have tried to experiment with their sound to produce a stand out musically and creatively for them. Although, I do admit it could've been better, I still enjoyed this album nonetheless (as I said in my review)
| | | Album Rating: 2.0
It's a matter of personal taste. As much as I enjoy Breaking Benjamin, I still find more faults than success in this outing. I don't find the aggression or complexity to warrant anything higher than a two. I thought about reviewing it, but my opinion aligns with Simon K.
| | |
| |
