The second release from the six-man-unit Beyond the Embrace finds them mixing their technical style of aggression/thrash with some more traditional tendencies at times. The knife-cutting chops are still present, but so are the thicker, more chord-dominant moments. Overall it's a good combo, and the band's on-stage delivery is capable of injecting adrenaline into anything they play. Shawn Gallagher's vocals now reside in an almost equal 50/50 split between clean and shouty/gruff.
The rolling "Fleshengine Breakdown" opens the disc, with "The Plague" being a capable followup. A steady and pulsing flow marks the intro to "My Fall," with the track settling into a slow groove the rest of the way. "...Of Every Strain" is at the opposite end of the spectrum, as its predatory chops are matched by some seething Gallagher vocals -- a perfect example of when semi-death vox are "right" for a song.
The tempo shifts of the title track are especially strong, and both "The Weak and the Wounded" and "Within" also leave their marks.

TRACK LIST: Fleshengine Breakdown/The Plague/My Fall/...Of Every Strain/Redeemer/Insect Song/Ashes/The Weak and the Wounded/Absent/Within