The Becoming

The Becoming have arrived, seemingly out of nowhere, and are emerging with the sturdy backing of Tooth & Nail records. In the short time since their conception they’ve garnered a decent fan base without even releasing their first album. And from the looks of them, they hold a promise of something daring and new just from their image. But sometimes looks can be deceiving.

Before I was even handed their debut album Volume 1, I automatically got an impression of what they would sound like (rather, wanted to sound like) by sifting through pictures on their Myspace page. Dressed starkly in all black, lots of tattoos and an eclectic array of hair styles perfectly crafted, they resembled a modern version of Motley Crue. Say what you want about the music labels at the top of a Myspace page, but when you label yourself something such as “Gothic,” you’re setting a listener up for a certain sound.

Admittedly, I was looking forward to hearing the sound. The album starts off setting the pace, but unfortunately that pace stays pretty much the same throughout the majority of the album- a slow, yet steady drive through every song that takes each tune through a standard mesh of verse, chorus/ verse, chorus structure and polished distortion riffs with some unimpressive synthesizer work.

Generally, a self prescribed label of “Gothic” is all about impact. In how you dress, what you say, and certainly what you sound like. Yet, the album is pretty much devoid of impact. Sure, the songs are crafted pretty well, standard, but well crafted with some pleasing vocal melodies. And the band’s sound is faintly reminiscent of a mid-80’s to early 90’s gothic drone rock. But other than a few swells of edgy guitar work, they never let it take off.

And it seems the band does face an inherent contradiction- gothic themes mixed with Christian themes, though it is one they manage to overcome. Most of the songs are grim and focus on themes of death, the grave, and nights without mornings, but they memorably bring in the hope of redemption and grace in songs like “Your Love” and “Escape You.” They are perhaps the only breaths of fresh air on the album.

Of course this isn’t to say a “Christian” band must talk of any one theme, or stray away from the themes of death, because they are certainly ever-present realities. However, the band’s focus on vampire-like ideals and dark images of funerals, shadows, bleeding, and dying simply come off as reoccurring, suggesting a lack of originality and borderline gimmickry.

The band, however, is tight and complements each member’s talent well. Singer Caleb Owens seems the perfect front man for the sound, but just as the music never gains enough energy, neither does he. They are perhaps best on the song “Somebody Didn’t Come Home Last Night,” a soft, elegant song driven primarily by a piano and focused on regret. It’s dark and melancholy but seems to be right where the band likes to be, and aside from the rest of the album it works nicely on its own.

Some listeners will be drawn to the band’s sound and it isn’t a bad album to listen to. But in the end, Volume 1’s severe lack of the energy that this band seems to want to have keeps it from being a truly memorable album. Unfortunately for a band that carries a lot of promise at first glance, it is a disappointingly weak debut.

Tagged as: The Becoming, Volume 1

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