CD Info

With savage finesse, Becoming the Archetype moves beyond their Christian metalcore comfort zone on Celestial Completion. Even compared with BTA’s blistering earlier releases, Celestial Completion is an album of violent contrasts, rendered with fearless spirit. Bassist Jason Wisdom’s harsh vocals are paired with newly recruited guitarist Daniel Gailey’s clean-edged singing to stunning effect. Even more striking are the bold arrangement choices the band makes — from the pizzicato strings and massed vocals opening “The Resonant Frequency of Flesh” through the cinematic sweep of the closing number “Breathing Light,” the album’s instrumental shifts are as dazzling as they are unpredictable. Most radical of all is “Cardiac Rebellion,” a dreamy, dirge-like number that breaks into a ska interlude (complete with trombone by ex-Five Iron Frenzy member Dennis Culp). Skull-piercing riffage and pummeling drum work keep Celestial Completion brilliantly brutal, even as Becoming the Archetype crosses the threshold into bold new territory. - iTunes