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Glory of a New Darkness is the debut album for U.S. Death Metal band Embrace Damnation. As one might expect by looking at the album cover and reading the song titles, these guys sing about Satan and anti-religion. That is fine by me since the band plays a riff-based Death Metal highlighted by melodic solos in each song. If you want a description of their sound, the best that I can come up with is Vital Remains, except that these guys aren't epic, they don't play nearly as fast and lack variety.

That is my main issue with this band. Sure they can deliver the goods sonically but when you have a hard time listening to the whole thing, then it is a problem. Even though they have a modern production you have difficulty in distinguishing their riffs, making the songs hard to differentiate. Another aspect that Embrace Damnation have to correct in the future is the inclusion of a bass. I am not talking about a member playing bass but simply the instrument being included in the songs. The musicians are adequate, but if they want to establish themselves as a good band then their singer must improve. To me, it seems that his voice is fake as it is full of effects; it makes me question if he has any talent at all.

Songwriting-wise this band is better than most, even though you can hear numerous influences from various bands, from the aforementioned Vital Remains to Obituary to Slayer. There are a couple of songs that are worthy of attention like: "Age of Satan, Age of Tribulation", "Diabolic Possession" and the Slayer cover "Necrophiliac". However, that is the exception and not the rule, as their brand of mid-paced Death Metal can get old really fast. Having said that, they show commitment and passion for what they are singing about, so I am confident that they can improve.

Embrace Damnation is a promising young band, and with this being their first album it is hard for me to be tough on them. Unfortunately, I cannot hide the fact that this is an average album at best. "Potential" is the best word to describe this band and hopefully in the future they can make an album better than this. Until then, they'll just be one among many.