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EMBR is: Justin- Bass | Mark - Guitar | Crystal – Vocals | Eric - Drums
CONTACT EMBR HERE OR VISIT THE EMBR FACEBOOK PAGE
EMBR boasts a remarkable discography of standout releases. Their 2016 album, 261, delivered a potent mix of heavy riffs and celestial vocals. In 2017, 271 maintained the intensity but introduced a softer, more nuanced side, achieving a balance between power and subtlety.
Early in 2019, 326: Spiritual Dialysis took their sound to new levels with a thunderous and defining force. Each of EMBR’s EPs has been well-received, offering a varied sonic palette while remaining true to their fundamental mission.
Their debut full-length album, 1823, released in 2020 on the UK label New Heavy Sounds, earned critical acclaim. This was followed by the EP IDOLATRY and the single Mary Did You Know in December 2020, with reviews available below.
The IDOLATRY EP, released later in 2020, featured covers of songs by Soundgarden, Nirvana, Alice in Chains, and Stone Temple Pilots.
In 2021, EMBR celebrated New Heavy Sounds' 10th anniversary with a three-song EP, 1021, which marked a new era for the band. They also recorded a cover of the Down classic “Bury Me in Smoke” with Dayglo Mourning.
EMBR has toured widely across the Southeast and as far as Iowa and Minnesota, having opened for The Sword and continuing to expand their reach.
In late 2023, EMBR released their self-titled sophomore album with Black Doomba Records. In 2024, they collaborated with Atlanta band THRUMM to cover COC's "Albatross."
Now, EMBR is preparing to release a new single titled Tensions.
S/T (2023) NEWS / REVIEWS:
THE SLEEPING SHAMAN REVIEW S/T
"I could go on forever about this band, but I won’t. What I will say is that if you don’t already know them, you should look them up."
THE DOOM CHARTS S/T #9
"Absolute love, for an album that binds itself in its edgy, sludge-heavy, doomy aggressiveness with fairy-like beauty. An album in which musical skills have been audibly developed and courageously used for a completely unique, (unconventional) path!"
OUTLAWS OF THE SUN REVIEW S/T
"EMBR have delivered the goods with this album and perhaps be considered a much stronger effort compared to their acclaimed debut release. This is an album that delivers on all fronts with EMBR blending pure MAYHEM with a foreboding sense of DOOM that demands your full undivided attention."
CLEAN AND SOBER STONER DEC. 2023 #1 ALBUM
"vocal performance of Crystal Bigelow that steals the show. And when I say performance, I mean she wields her vocal cords like they’re an over amplified instrument not happy unless it’s in overdrive. ."
VIKING IN THE WILDERNESS REVIEW S/T
"Big arrangements with rich but dirty guitar riffs is the order of the day here, with a majestic and vibrant edge being a big part of just about all the regular songs here, with a little bit of a stoner-tinged side step.."
1021 NEWS / REVIEWS:
"this is the heavy experimental doom that people need in their lives, and Embr are taking on the genre and starting to make waves.."
"1021 can only be judged as a success. That’s the math of it. As to the listening experience? This sounds like a band who are not fucking around. "
THE SLEEPING SHAMAN REVIEWS 1021
"even in a genre of tried and tested sensibilities, rules are meant to be broken, and that’s exactly what EMBR are here to do."
IDOLATRY NEWS / REVIEWS:
DISTORTED SOUND REVIEWS IDOLATRY
"In lesser hands, a four-track cover EP would be little more than a cash grab masquerading as hero worship. With Idolatry, EMBR have paid tribute to four of the most influential bands in the last thirty years, while also showing a huge amount of growth in the few months since their debut 1823."
THE SLEEPING SHAMAN REVIEWS IDOLATRY
"this EP is beyond a homage, feeling like an evolution of Embr’s sound, forming something more organic and actually less genre specific. The pairing of grunge, and Embr’s synonymous doom styling’s, really feels like the start of something new"
"As a small insight into influences and idols (assuming that’s what they were going for), EMBR have dropped a savvy collection of carefully crafted tributes chosen with care, highlighting their clear strengths, affinity with the grunge genre and, arguably, one of the best covers EPs from a modern band in a minute."
"Idolatry is every bit as well crafted as 1823."
1823 NEWS / REVIEWS:
REVOLVER PREMIERES EMBR VIDEO/SONG YOUR BURDEN
"a Sabbathian dirge swirling with Southern Gothic vibes and lifted above the fog by Crystal's soaring vocals" - REVOLVER
CVLT NATION PREMIERES EMBR SONG EYES LIKE KNIVES
"It’s music that makes me close my eyes and sail off on whatever weird tangents my imagination wants to follow." - CVLT NATION
"As 1823 ends its run, it characterizes EMBR somewhere between doom and ambient sludge or post-metal, but one of the most encouraging aspects of the album is that it’s less about conforming to style than it is about offering its own take through largesse and range alike, the changes in structure and arrangement adding to the focus on craft that is so prevalent throughout. "
EMBR IN GUITAR WORLD
"With its drop-tuned humbucking intro, Embr might lull you into a false sense of doom-metal security, but as Your Burden attests, there’s more to these Birmingham, AL metallers than pure sonic annihilation."
METAL-RULES REVIEWS 1823
"1823 is the debut album of U.S. quartet Embr, and shows us a flavoursome, and often downright stunning take on doom metal and heavy music in general. "
THE SLEEPING SHAMAN REVIEWS 1823
"These elements come together to form something truly inspiring, and to come in at ground level with a new band such as Embr is an added bonus, as I believe that they’re going to rise and rise, so it will be interesting to see where they go from here. This is definitely the start of something special…"
ECH(((10)))ES AND DUST REVIEWS 1823
"It is with great satisfaction then to announce Embr are another fine addition to the welcoming expansion of bands in recent years bringing a freshness to metal’s dark and doomy tradition. "
"The follow up to impressive EPs 261 and 271, EMBR‘s debut full-length, 1823, finds the Birmingham, Alabama band hitting the ground running with their ambitious take on the doom genre and indeed all things heavy metal in general. "
"dropping a Black Sabbath-like Doom-laden thick and heavy backdrop to the reverb-soaked female vocals of Crystal Bigelow"
261 REVIEWS
RIFF RELEVANT
[EMBR] have crafted an emotionally fueled offering driven by fantastic guitar fueling, fluid rhythms, and cohesive drumming."
DESERT PSYCHLIST
"excursions into areas of heavy psyched doom and occult rock, shifting through a myriad of differing dynamics and subtle time changes with Bigelow's vocals swooping and soaring majestically overhead."
271 REVIEWS
"271 is a very dramatic and emotionally charged EP "
"what a superb item of U.S. doom we have here."
326: SPIRITUAL DIALYSIS REVIEWS
"Punishingly heavy with sedated slowness on a level different than most Doom out there, EMBER could give SUNN O))) a run for their money."
RIFF RELEVANT
"If you liked the earlier output from EMBER, then I dare say that you are going to find yourself utterly enthralled by this latest aural adventure!"
"Crystal and Erik Bigelow are a couple on fire, united by the riff and crowned by the power and glory of fuzz for time and eternity. "
EMBR EPK Embr Electronic Press Kit Embr Information Contact Embr Birmingham Alabama Heavy Metal Doom Female Fronted Music
