When Embers Fall

Breaking Benjamin is another band that I absolutely love. They were one of the first bands that really got me into rock music, but it hasn’t been until a year or so ago that I really started to listen to them more and explore more of their music. So when I saw that they were releasing an album in 2018 I was excited. And after seeing Breaking Benjamin live in concert earlier in the year, I couldn’t wait to hear new music from them, and boy do they deliver. Ember is a pretty heavy album, but it does have some lighter moments. However, a lot of the songs do sound kind of similar, but each song has a slew of little details and nuances that make it stand out among the other songs.

1. “Lyra”- “Lyra” is a rather straightforward opening to the album. There isn’t a whole lot to say, because it’s so short and entirely instrumental. But, “Lyra” is a very pretty song that sets the tone for the rest of the album and leads perfectly into “Feed the Wolf”.

2. “Feed the Wolf”- “Feed the Wolf” was the second song released as a single before Ember came out, so I had heard it before the album dropped. “Feed the Wolf” is a rather interesting song in the sense that it has a very good mixture of heavy and light moments. For the most part, the verses are pretty light, but the refrain can get pretty heavy. Overall, “Feed the Wolf” is a pretty good song and introduces you to the heaviness that is going to be present throughout the rest of the album.

3. “Red Cold River”- “Red Cold River” was the first song released before Ember. “Red Cold River starts out rather straightforward and melodic, but it very quickly escalates. It escalates so much in fact that one of my friend didn’t like the song at first. I personally enjoy it, but fair warning: it does get really heavy both in the verses and the refrains. However, “Red Cold River” is still a very enjoyable song, at least for me.

4. “Tourniquet”- “Tourniquet” is probably one of my favorite songs on the album. The vocals remind me a lot of earlier Breaking Benjamin songs, specifically “Angel’s Fall”, but it quickly changes into its own thing, and I really enjoy it. I really like the refrain for “Tourniquet” and its overall sound, and because of that it is arguably one of my favorite songs on the album. Lyrically the song is very interesting and has a lot going for it, and that’s another reason that I really like it.

5. “Psycho”- When I first heard “Psycho” I really, really liked it. It does sound rather similar to a lot of the other songs, but much like with “Tourniquet”, the refrain really separates it from the pack. The line “Psycho, let go” really makes the song stand out. And with these same lines, the emotion in the vocals is very powerful. At least for me, it’s these emotions during the refrain that give “Psycho” the power that it has and makes it stand out.

6. “The Dark of You”- This song is considerably different from the rest of the album. While a lot of the other songs have heavier sounds, “The Dark of You” is a lot quieter. It is a lot more melodic than the other songs and it’s honestly a really beautiful song. You can really hear the emotion in Benjamin Burnley’s voice throughout this song and it’s absolutely phenomenal. “The Dark of You” is definitely up there as one of my favorite songs on the album, in part because of how different it is.

7. “Down”- “Down” is another really interesting song. It isn’t as heavy as most of the songs on this album, but it is still heavier than “The Dark of You”. The best way to describe this song would be to compare it to something like “I Will Not Bow”, because “Down” still does have its heavy moments like “I Will Not Bow”. I really do like “Down”, especially when the verses begin to build up before climaxing into the refrain. Those little moments are really enjoyable for me and help to give “Down” its strength.

8. “Torn in Two”- “Torn in Two” is a lot like “Down” with its level of heaviness. The verses are very strong, but much like with “Down”, the verses build up before exploding with emotion in the refrain. The refrain, especially towards the end, becomes really beautiful and melodic, and I love it. “Torn in Two” is yet another great song with amazing little details that really make it a stand out song.

9. “Blood”- “Blood” was another song released as a single before the release of Ember and it really helped prepare me for what to expect. “Blood” is a very nice mix of heavy and light moments, with the majority of the song being rather light and melodic with a few heavy moments sprinkled in, something that I know Breaking Benjamin is very good at. And again like in “The Dark of You”, the emotion present in the vocals is absolutely amazing. In my opinion, “Blood” is a great song that really stands out on an already solid album.

10. “Save Yourself”- “Save Yourself” is a great song that may need a listen or two before it really starts to become appealing. At first, I thought it was kind of generic and it just sounded like everything else on this album, but it doesn’t. The growl in the verses is what makes this song stand out. The refrain is strong, but the verses are stronger. After listening to the song a few times, the harsh beauty of the verses really began to stand out to me and make me love the song.

11. “Close Your Eyes”- “Close Your Eyes” is more or less the final song on the album, and it is a great closing before the outro. “Close Your Eyes” is a really nice and emotional song that also maintains the heavy hard rock sound that is present throughout the rest of the album. “Close Your Eyes” does sound a bit generic like “Save Yourself”, but certain moments really help it to stand out. I think that “Close Your Eyes” is a solid ending song for this album.

12. “Vega”- “Vega has a very nice sound to it. It is a bit longer than “Lyra”, but it is still a pretty short outro. However, it’s an outro that sounds great and it really brings the album to an end with a solid conclusion.

After listening to Ember a few times, I can confidently say that it is a quality album. I had pretty high expectations for this album and I think that Breaking Benjamin delivers. If you’re a fan of heavier rock music then I would highly reccomend this album. Even if you didn’t listent to this kind of music I would still highly reccomend it.