Becoming the Archetype exhibits evolving sound

 As far as popular music genres go, Christian progressive death metal is a red-headed stepchild. While many people can't take the repetitive pounding associated with death metal, equally off-putting is the fact that Christian death metal removes one of the genre's many staples: demonic imagery. These two factors have combined to keep Becoming the Archetype out of most people's iPods, which is unfortunate, because these guys are good.

BTA broke into the death metal scene in 2005 with "Terminate Damnation" after they were discovered by fellow metal heads Demon Hunter. While their debut album was full of promise, particularly their 12-minute epoch "Elegy," which demonstrated their ability to deftly switch from pure aggression to soul-lifting melody, it was also inconsistent and failed to stand out from the legions of similar bands.

 BTA took a step backwards with "The Physics of Fire" and progressed surely but slowly with their 2008 release of "Dichotomy." Despite some pretty significant lineup changes throughout their seven-year career, the band released their fourth studio album "Celestial Completion" last week.

Early into the album, it's easy to tell that BTA has kicked their game up a few notches after "Dichotomy." The intro track is haunting and sets the tone for the rest of the album. "The Magnetic Sky" is the first of it's kind for BTA — both melodic and heavy at the same time — while "Internal Illumination" grinds to an ear-aching crawl before transitioning into another new variant on BTA's sound "Path of the Beam."

The three part "Requiem Aeternam" begins softly with a piano solo, continues with a foot-tapping riff and ends in an epic prophesy of mankind's imminent doom. "Invisible Creature" and "Cardiac Rebellion" exhibit BTA's desire to experiment, the latter track combining jazz and heavy metal in an altogether confusing but not unappealing mix. "Reflect/Refract" continues the precedent set by the first nine tracks, and "Breathing Light" tops off the experience with a solid, if unspectacular, finish.

BTA overcomes some of the pitfalls of the death metal genre by mixing in various melodic intros and outros and by incorporating orchestral movements, choirs and non-traditional instruments into the album. That being said, "Celestial Completion" is still somewhat overwhelming and repetitive.

As encouraging as BTA's evolution is, "Celestial Completion" will probably not entice any new fans to the death metal side. However, the album is unique and solid enough to please both old and new fans. BTA still has steps to make before becoming an industry leader, and time will tell if "Celestial Completion" is a sign of things to come or merely a moment of inspiration. 

Rating: 3½ out of 5