Embryo

Embryo - The Source of Hate
Independant, 2001
Gloon:
Embryo hail from Italy, the land of power metal, however fear not this is far from the fantasy and dragons of Rhapsody and others. Embryo are a hard band to pin down and put nicely into a genre as they don't limit themselves to just one style or one concept. Thrashing guitars, atmospheric keyboards, shrieking and growling vocals, all intertwine to form 'The Source of Hate'. This makes for highly diverse and enjoyable listening from the Children of Bodomish keyboards in Hate Within to the almost Sentenced like rock of Choice of Pain. Alberto's bass work is also reminiscent of ITP/Symbolic era Death, very prominent and to the fore and complements the drumming and guitar well. Diversity however is both Embryo's strength and weakness, while the 'Source of Hate' is an enjoyable listen it fails to flow nicley as a whole and does sound a little lost in places (One track clocks in at 1 min 30 another at over 13), the production is also a little tiny with the drums at times sounding a little hollow. I truely feel that once Embryo focus more on a certain style they will find their identity and really shine. Overall an orginal if a little dysfunctional debut, go check it out.
Favourite Tracks - Drowning in Blood, Hate Within
Rating - 7.5/10
SECOND OPINION
Lord Pale:
Unsigned underground death thrashers Embryo hail from Italy and mix an interesting blend of melody and doom to the mid-paced thrash core of their sound. With a variety of vocal styles including deep growls, throaty rasps and semi clean snarls, which compliment the respective sections of their music being, soothing melodic guitar riffs with accompanying keyboards or aggressive heavy deathy passages. I have a couple of small gripes with 'The Source of Hate', which I am sure will be rectified by the band when they get a signed release. Firstly the production on the guitar and drums could be pumped up to add more bite, and secondly a bit more structure could be added to the material so it flows a little better and stays memorable, after all a memorable song is more important than a memorable riff. Overall Embryo are a band full of potential that I hope will get signed as I think they could really push their ideas with a bigger budget.
Favourite Tracks - Hate Within, Painting the End, Drowning in Blood
Rating - 6.5/10