For Fans of : Northlane, I Prevail, Architects, Currents, Polaris, Starset

Emberwake is a 6- piece metal-core band out of Fernley, Nevada, and in my opinion, they are criminally underrated. They hold a regular rotation on my Spotify playlist, and every time their songs come across my stream I am blown away by the incredible musicianship of this band. It’s not only the music though- Emberwake is the whole package. Their art, which accompanies every single release, is also a sight to behold and a masterclass in audio-visual stimulation.

When I was approached to review “Monster” I jumped on the chance. As soon as I hit play I was transported through dreamy synths and a quick drum buildup, leading into the vocal reflections of a relationship gone awry. A story unfolds through the seamless oscillation between the clean vocals of Steve and screams of Zion, where self reflection reveals we can sometimes be the monster in our own stories, and how we choose to feel, or not, is our own path to decide and accept.

My jaw is still on the floor just thinking about this song. I can’t wait until the official release so I can 3-peat Monster on Spotify. It is beautifully put together, thematic and overall a fantastic song. I listened to this at least 5 times in a row upon first listen, because at 3 minutes and 48 seconds, I was not ready for this journey to be over. I am still listening to it now. On repeat. And I promise- you will be too. Most of the production of the music is done in-house, which makes this all the more impressive.

There is a quick but notable moment in the song, a sharp keyboard followed by brief silence at 1:28, that harkens to John Carpenter’s Halloween theme, and the vibe carries subtle undertones throughout the synth and keyboards in the entire song.