A Balance of Heavy and Melodic

Breathing Theory is one of those smaller bands that I just kind of discovered one day, but I’m glad I did. Breathing Theory quickly became one of my favorite artists, but at the time I discovered them, much like with Memory of a Melody, they hadn’t produced anything super recent. And for a while, I wondered if they would ever put out anything new. Then a few months ago, I saw that they released Balance. I immediately listened through it, and while I did definitely enjoy it, it wasn’t necessarily my favorite album or EP put out by Breathing Theory (that title remains with Uprise Part 2).

“Dead Cold Beautiful” opens Balance with a passionate and angry bang. My favorite part of “Dead Cold Beautiful” is the raw emotion present in the vocals in the verses. In addition, the instrumentals are incredible, and frankly this is true of every song on the album. I would definitely say that this song is one of my favorites off of the album.

“The Nothing” was first released two years as a single, and I enjoyed it a fair bit when it came out, but it never really stuck with me. But as I listen through it again, I definitely find myself appreciating it a lot more now. Even though the song is relatively straightforward, it’s still packed with emotion and sounds fantastic, much like a lot of the other songs on Balance.

“Holding On” differs from the previous two songs in the sense that it’s a bit more upbeat than the last few, even if the lyrics themselves aren’t exactly the happiest. Nevertheless, the song still rocks and I thoroughly enjoy it. One of the things that I’ve noticed about most of the songs on Balance is just how emotional and passionate the vocals are in each song, and I love it. However I will say that I do prefer the acoustic version of “Holding On” that just released rather recently.

As I listen through Balance again for the first time in a few months, I reach “Waiting for a Fall,” and I’m immediately reminded of how much I like this song when I first listened to it. For me, it’s the verses that really sell me on this song because it has the Breathing Theory sound that made me first start enjoying the band. Since there was such a long gap between their last EP and this album, I wasn’t sure how much Breathing Theory’s style would have changed, and while some songs are slightly different from their older stuff, “Waiting for a Fall” returns to the Breathing Theory that I know and enjoy. The piano version of “Waiting for a Fall” is even more beautiful and emotional.

“Never Die” is another song that I really liked. While I like the vocals, especially in the refrain, I really like the instrumentals of “Never Die.” Breathing Theory is one of the few bands where when I’m listening to their music, I can really tune in to and appreciate their instrumentals, and I find this especially apparent in “Never Die.” It also helps that the song features some fantastic solos as well.

“Prisoners and Animals” is one of those songs where I saw the name and really wanted to like the song, but it just never stuck with me. And yet as I listen to the song again, I realize that it’s a really good song. While not as a emotional as some of the other songs on Balance, “Prisoners and Animals” still has some really good moments. And just like “Never Die,” it features some great solos that really enhance my appreciation of the song.

“Escape” is a beautifully soft (relative to the other songs on the album) and emotional song rather similar to “Run Away” and “Dear Sparrow” on some of Breathing Theory’s EPs. “Escape” may be the most emotional song on the album, and honestly I really, really like it because of this beautiful emotion further enhanced by how melodic the song is.

“Who We Are” is the final new song on Balance (“Waiting for a Fall Piano Version” does come afterwards), and as I listen through it again, I notice that it seems to combine elements of some of the other songs on the album and synthesizes them into its own upbeat song. While “Who We Are” may not be my personal favorite song on the album, it’s still a good song on a great album. Plus it’s very interesting listening through and noting the various elements that it borrows from the other songs on Balance. But I will say, I really like how the end sounds and wraps up the album.

As the title shows, Balance contains a lot of songs that alternate between heavy and melodic. While not nearly as heavy as artists like Trivium, or even some of their own earlier songs, Breathing Theory still has some intense moments in Balance, but I never thought that these moments detracted from the album. I believe that emotion more than anything permeates each and every song, and this emotion is only enhanced by the heaviness and melodic components of each song. Overall, Balance is a solid album, even if I personally prefer Breathing Theory’s Uprise Part 2 EP. The album also isn’t super long, clocking in at only around 35 minutes, and in my opinion it’s definitely worth the listen. If I were to rate Balance, I’d probably give it a 7.75/10.