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“EMBER” by Breaking Benjamin


“People have always really liked the heavier side of the band. I think that's what they sort of gravitate towards. But we also make sure to explore our melodic and softer side too. On Ember we just tried to make it more extreme — the softer side on this album is really soft, and the heavy side is really heavy. We decided to give everybody what they want to the furthest degree,” said Benjamin. Ember, Breaking Benjamin's sixth album, with Nu metal, Hard rock & Post-grunge music, was released on the 13th of April, 2018. Personally, one of my favorite rock albums released this year.. So I thought, why not write a review?

 

LYRA


Lyra, a constellation name taken from the lyre of Orpheus.. A calm, serene opening into an album that enriches the music genre of Rock with life..



FEED THE WOLF


The first song on the album starts off with a powerful riff, yet continues with soft melody and vocals, the song speaks about a man trying to control the beast inside of him, keeping it caged in cold, barren lands, the song conveys an emotional dilemma, a struggle between the conscious mind of the man, and his raging wolf inside.



RED COLD RIVER

With even a darker, heavier instrumental and meaning than the song before, this one has its own musical video which starts with lines from the narrative of a father that has lost his daughter, Benjamin Burnley, lead singer says “Fight with folded hands,” somewhere along the lines of the song which shows that the man is searching for his daughter with uttermost agony and hopeful prayers. The song takes a darker twist when the father consults supernatural powers and finds the man that killed his daughter next to the river, the Red Cold River, and beats him to death while still in his supernatural form, then the daughter, in the form of an angel raises to deliver final goodbye as her father turns into ashes. A beauty in an Alternative-Heavy Metal tragedy.

TOURNIQUET


“(noun): a device for stopping the flow of blood through a vein or artery, typically by compressing a limb with a cord or tight bandage.


This song shows the narrator's struggle with loving someone that has a love so powerful yet so harsh, to an extent where it will become a tourniquet to his life, heartbreaking and exhausting, but he vows that he will be strong, and that whatever comes in his way, will never break him.



PSYCHO


“Psycho” starts off with 20 seconds of anticipating music, which then breaks into a heavy riff. The song speaks of a psycho, in conflict between breaking free and embracing who he really is, releasing the rupture and the fury, or being the fake he was shaped into, slowly fading away into ember.. “I am the ember fading..



THE DARK OF YOU


“The Dark of You” enlightens the album with its melodic euphony, the softer side of the album rises as they begin with calm recurring piano notes. From my perspective, the song tells the story of humankind, the dark and wicked side of it, even though we fight constantly for our dreams, we are wrecking the world by feeding on the weaker, burning down our environments and lying to the world, and to ourselves.. The fall of humankind, all in our hands. This song features Derek Hough a Dancing With the Stars performer, which sings the higher pitch backing vocals in the song, creating a beautiful yet tragic, harmony.


DOWN


After showing loss of hope in “The Dark of You”, the album transitions into “Down”, where hope lives again. “Down” is one of the songs that had a mixture of soft and heavy, the song acquires a theme of rage and war, the battle for dreams, hope and life. Nothing will hold it down.


TORN IN TWO


“Torn in Two”, the second and final music video on the album starts with vague flashback scenes after they've left us with a cliff hanger on “Red Cold River”, the father from the last video is shown falling from earth into what seems like hell. This song begins with a vigorous riff, making it one of the heaviest songs on the album. The story continues with the father's promise to find his angel, the only hope in his life; his daughter. He has become completely demented, or torn in two, between his unconscious supernatural form and the memories he is bombarded with from his past life. While in search of his hope, he comes across two demons that thrive to feed on his soul. To me, his soul symbolized dedication and hope for living, which the demons had succeeded at taking away.. The video closes in on a blurring of his vision, and his hallucination in the form of his daughter being enveloped in darkness.



BLOOD


Just as you thought the album won't be getting any darker or heavier, “Blood” claims otherwise. Blood defaces the struggle once again of the love he is trapped in, he realizes that this time, he won't let himself suffocate, even though falling in hopeless love runs in his blood, he will not be blind to the torture surrounding him.


SAVE YOURSELF


“Save Yourself” was also one of the darker songs on the album, after he has escaped his misery, he leaves the tormenting love behind, with all its lies and broken faith. Hate replaces the love, and the demon inside of him is awoken. He abandons everything and everyone, he leaves the world behind while it dies and fractures away, with only a sunrise in view, symbolizing regeneration and a new life. He calls out on the person that was suffocating him to save themselves since he won't be there for them anymore.


CLOSE YOUR EYES


The final single on the album shines the light on the persistent existence of hope, even though everything ends, we must hold on to faith and dreams, if we don't they would wither and fade away. So close your eyes and hold on.



VEGA


Vega, also designated Alpha Lyrae, the brightest star in the constellation of Lyra. “Vega” wraps up the album in a calm atmospheric end as it continues the ending instrumental of Close Your Eyes.

 

The story ends here, with the brightest star in the constellation of Lyra. Breaking Benjamin never fail to impress, even with all the musical changes of our current time, rock is not dead.


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