For many of you already familiar with the type of music that the band play, “
Distance In Embrace are a metalcore-ish band from Germany with a three word name” is probably all you need to know to get a very vague gist of what to expect on
Utopia Versus Archetype. Hang-gliding into your CD player on the gust of hot air that is the current trend of metal-influenced emocore / emo-influenced metalcore (delete as applicable in accordance with your own definitions of “emo” and/or “metal”), it’s hard to believe that a band putting out a sophomore effort of this style of music in 2007 is doing little more than cashing-in on the latest musical fad.
Although I may not know the latest media-concocted genre buzzword to attach to this band, and I may not know the reasoning behind why they do what they do, what I do know is that they are fucking good at it. As an “elitist metaler” in my teenage years, I would have absolutely despised anything like this but I like to think that now as a more mature music fan, I can listen to and appreciate any kind of music, as long as it is done well and delivered with passion. And “done well” may be the understatement of the year when describing
Utopia Versus Archetype, which delivers nothing less than the most emotionally charged, genuine-sounding form of this style of music I have heard since the likes of
Until Forever Finds Me by
This Runs Through.
For those of you unfamiliar with the more credible underbelly of this currently in vogue music style, the easiest mainstream soundalike I can think of for this band would be early
Funeral For A Friend. Although there are very definite similarities in song structures between the two bands, with both definitely coming from the same school of thought in terms of twinkling lead guitar parts in particular, Distance In Embrace ply their trade with a markedly more aggressive, heavier demeanour. The first proper track,
On The Verge, runs at you full-speed on the back of galloping hardcore drums, and hits you with rugged dissonant riffage so ferocious that they’ll knock any memory of the watered-down Kerrang! sponsored bands you may already be down with right out of your head. The key to this style of music—and please note how I am making conscious effort to avoid any specific labelling here, so as not to offend any genre elitists out there—lies in offsetting the in-your-face chugging metal parts with mellow, atmospheric moments. A perfect example of this formula can be heard in
Awake With Imaginary Dreams, which features a particularly soothing, chilled-out moment before the distortion thunders back on and kicks the shit out of you. Unlike so many other bands who implement this simple quiet/loud dynamic, at no point do these contrasting sections ever seem forced or ill-fitting, and each part flows very naturally into the next. Every track on this album succeeds in taking you by the hand and guiding you from one mood to the next, punching you into the ground with furious CHUN CHUN-ing one minute before gently helping you up and encouraging you to lick your wounds with a soft melodic passage the next.
The production on this album is suitably fit for the purpose, with
Heaven Shall Burn guitarist Alexander Dietz expertly twiddling the knobs to ensure just the right blend of powerful in-your-face snare and bass drum, a consistent driving bass guitar presence and clean, audible lead guitar parts layered on top of raw, jagged rhythm guitar riffing. These lead guitar parts are what are now commonly referred to as “
Iron Maiden"-style leads, but delivered with speed and technicality the likes of which Dave Murray, Adrian Smith and Janick Gers have never come close to. That’s right, to those who subscribe to the closed-minded “elitist metal” mindset that I mentioned earlier—this band are doing what your bands do, and arguably doing it better! What the fuck are you going to do about it?
The only aspect of Utopia Versus Archetype that really didn’t sit comfortably for me were some of the vocals. Although providing the obligatory kind of raspy screaming so prominent in many modern forms of hardcore music, mixed with cleaner singing vocals, the clean parts would often stray into dangerously overly-twee territory. The balance between different vocal extremes is maintained fairly well for most of the album, but songs such as
New Avenues and album closer
Of The Deepest Dye perhaps feature a little bit too much of the cheesy pop-style singing that the detractors of “emo” music tend to pick at so much.
If you’re already a fan of this brand of emo-tinged metalcore currently all the rage in Europe, “Utopia Versus Archetype” should definitely sit at the top of your favourite CD pile for quite some time. If your only experience of anything close to this kind of music are the bands that SCUZZ are punting to you straight out of Wales, then maybe it’s about time you gave the real deal a chance?
Utopia Versus Archetype is available now via
Mother Should Know Records, and Distance In Embrace are scheduled to play
Bar Bloc in Glasgow on 14 August 2007.
www.distanceinembrace.com www.myspace.com/distanceinembrace
Distance In Embrace - Utopia Versus Archetype 
