Becoming the Archetype – Terminate Damnation
Solid State Records – TND73987 – August 30th, 2005
By Jason Jordan
Excluding
Extol’s The Blueprint Dives,
Terminate Damnation might just be the first, real metal album that Solid State’s released in eons. Slight embellishment aside, while keeping the above-mentioned in mind,
Becoming the Archetype are quite likeable. But, of course, there’s always a flip side to the coin, and that flip side I speak of is the proverbial too much, too soon pitfall, which can trump just about any good attributes a band possesses.
In spite of ambition and proficiency injections that
Becoming the Archetype, no doubt, succumbed to before the recording of
Terminate Damnation, there’s still a noticeable lack of direction. That is, the group’s sophomore record – first with Solid State Records though – adopts multiple styles (melodeath and metalcore) and incorporates loads of other elements (acoustic guitar, technical chops, and presumed hero worship) in an attempt to stuff all those disparate things into one bag. So, as you can imagine, it’s a disjointed listen overall. Whereas the organ-laden intro “March of the Dead” will make you think you accidentally slipped a doom album into the player, “Into Oblivion” will try to convince that you’re absorbing a bulked-up version of
Tourniquet (circa 2:00-2:30). During one of the many passages of “One Man Parade,” I had to reassure myself that I wasn’t listening to recent
Extol (@ 1:40), and “Elegy” comes off as contrived due to its length, structure, and latter half. From there, “Night’s Sorrow” relays classical guitar, “Denouement” plays the role of mellow interlude, and the others are simply inviting compositions.
I will say, however, that
Becoming the Archetype invented good riffs on
Terminate Damnation, and peppered those with a flurry of interesting subtleties. Brandishing artwork from Dan Seagrave, a brief performance by Ryan Clark (
Demon Hunter), and a relatively popular label will help the quartet move further up within the echelons of metal, though I’m not ready to start distributing crowns just yet. Definitely a band to watch, though, as you will be seeing their name again.
7.5/10
Official Becoming the Archetype Website
Official Solid State Records Website
