Embodyment
Embodyment was a Christian rock band from Arlington, Texas which formed in 1992 and were first known by the name Supplication where they originally played death metal, later turning into a deathcore band with the release of their 1996 ep "Embodyment" and then completely abandoned all their extreme metal influences thereafter pursuing an alternative rock/alternative metal style with their album The Narrow Scope of Things and subsequently became lighter with each proceeding album.
Embodyment | |
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Also known as | Supplication |
Origin | Arlington, Texas, U.S. |
Genres | Alternative rock[1][2] death metal (demos), deathcore (first album) |
Years active | 1992-2004 |
Labels | Solid State, XS, One Day Savior |
Associated acts | The Famine, Society's Finest |
Past members | Kris McCaddon Sean Corbray Andrew Godwin Joshua Johnson Mark Garza Jason Lindquist Derrick Wadsworth Kevin Donnini James Lanigan Taylor Smith |
The band frequently performed shows with touring acts such as Living Sacrifice, Zao, Training for Utopia, P.O.D. and No Innocent Victim.[3]
History
Embodyment started out as a death metal band and released three demos under this style, after which they were signed to Solid State Records in 1997 for their debut album, Embrace the Eternal, where they switched to a deathcore style. The album contains mostly new material but also new versions of a couple of the old demos. Solid State later distributed a collection of the early Embodyment death metal demos titled [1993-1996] in addition to releasing a previously unreleased track by the band called “Halo of Winter” on the label’s compilation album, “This Is Solid State Vol. I”.
After kicking vocalist Kris McCaddon out, Sean Corbray joined the band and introduced a markedly different vocal style to the band, evidenced on the followup to Embrace the Eternal, titled The Narrow Scope of Things.[4] This album was the band's first step away from any of the heavier metal subgenres.[5] Instead, their sound on the album was adjusted to alternative metal with hard rock influences and featured actual singing and some screamed vocal parts rather than any form of death metal vocals.
Embodyment's third and final album for Solid State, Hold Your Breath, continued in the direction seen on The Narrow Scope of Things toward more alternative and hard rock stylings. Hold Your Breath was Embodyment's first album that featured no screamed vocals, only singing vocals. Embodyment's last album, Songs for the Living, was much the same, showing even less of the dwindling metal influence heard on Hold Your Breath. Embodyment had shopped the Songs for the Living material around as an industry demo, looking for a new label, but after finding little interest they released it as an album on XS Records. Embodyment disbanded in early 2004 after having partially written a follow up record.
Andrew Godwin, Mark Garza, and Chris McCaddon, most of the lineup of the original Embodyment, have since formed The Famine, a band that returns to the members' metal roots.
In February 2011, the band released a five-song EP, Forgotten, consisting of un-released songs from the Songs for the Living era.
Members
Final lineup
- Sean Corbray – vocals (2000–2004)
- Derrick Wadsworth – bass (2000) rhythm guitar (2000–2002), drums (2002–2004)
- Jason Lindquist – vocals (1992–1994), rhythm guitar (1994–1997, 2000), bass (2000–2004)
- Andrew Godwin – lead guitar (1992–2004) (ex-The Famine, Pyrithion, Hope Deferred[6])
Previous members
- Kris McCaddon – vocals (1994–2000)
- Taylor Smith – rhythm guitar, vocals (1992–1994)
- James Lanigan – rhythm guitar (1994–1999)
- Kevin Donnini – bass, backing vocals (1992–1998)
- Mark Garza – drums (1992–2003)
- Timeline
Discography
Studio albums
- Embrace the Eternal (1998, Solid State, Reviews:HM Magazine,[7] The Phantom Tollbooth)
- [1993-1996] (1999, Independent)
- The Narrow Scope of Things (2000, Solid State, Reviews: The Phantom Tollbooth)
- Hold Your Breath (2001, Solid State, Reviews: Jesus Freak Hideout)
- Songs for the Living (2002, XS Records, Reviews: Jesus Freak Hideout)
- Forgotten EP (2011, Reviews: Jesus Freak Hideout)
emos
- Persistent Sin (tape under the band name "SUPPLICATION") - 1993
- Corrosion Of The Flesh - 1994
- Embodyment (3-song demo) - 1996
- Industry Demo (an early version of Songs for the Living) - 2002
Non-album tracks
- "Halo of Winter" from This is Solid State Vol. 1 (1998)
- "Breaking News", "And Then Some", "Spilling Over", "The Answer", and "Hindsight", all released online in 2003 and 2004 as parts of what would have been Embodyment's fifth full-length record.
- As of 2011, these five never-before-released songs have been officially released on Apple iTunes and Amazon.com, under the album title "Forgotten".
References
- Pelt, Doug Van (2004) Embodyment - Embrace the Eternal at the Wayback Machine (archive index). HM Magazine. Retrieved on May 11, 2016.
- Deneau, Max (February 15, 2011). "The Famine - The Architects of Guilt". Exclaim!. Retrieved August 23, 2016.
- DaRonco, Mike. "Embodyment biography". AllMusic. Retrieved September 21, 2015.
- Turner, Trav (July 31, 2016). "Mark Garza of Embodyment/The Famine (Part One)". As The Story Grows. Retrieved August 4, 2016.
- "Album review: The Narrow Scope of Things". Stranger Things Magazine. June 2000. Archived from the original on 2007-10-23. Retrieved 2009-04-06.
- Beard, Mason (October 17, 2016). "Ex-Embodyment, The Famine Members Return with New Project". Indie Vision Music. Retrieved November 8, 2016.
- Van Pelt, Doug (September–October 1998). "Album Reviews: EMBODYMENT Embrace the Eternal". HM Magazine (73). ISSN 1066-6923.