Death metal has morphed and grown a lot over the past thirty or so years, with plenty of bands trying to push the envelope of extremity as far as possible. This has led to a proliferation of tech-death and math-core acts, with their cold and clinical precision and thousand beats-per-minute assaults on the senses. Of late a slew of dissonant, atonal, mind-bending death metal has appeared; certainly a refreshing and innovative take on the genre. What has perhaps been a bit lacking, at least on this side of the new millennium, are death metal bands of the more musical sort. Bands of a more traditional bent, whose riffs and solos aren't crammed together but instead allowed to breathe; to ebb and flow without sounding like their purveyors were trying to ram them down your throat.
Reading, England's Ancient Ascendant, whose new album Echoes and Cinder is set to drop on March 24th courtesy of Candlelight Records, are relatively new to the scene, having formed in 2008 and to date released one full length and three E.P.'s. Building a solid reputation, touring with some serious acts, and getting some excellent reviews has helped them climb out of obscurity and to the forefront of the metal scene. In short, they deserve the recognition. It does not hurt their cause that one of metal's brightest lights, Dan Swanö (Edge of Sanity), handles the band's production duties.
What we have here with Echoes and Cinder is an album whose creators truly enjoyed playing on it. There is a "jam-session" feel to the eight songs which comprise it. Make no mistake, this observation does not imply a lack of focus to the songs. They are crisp, well-constructed journeys down a path that is dark, twisted and personal. But amid the darkness is a rocking feel reminiscent of vintage Carcass, Edge of Sanity, and Sear Bliss.
Opening song "Crones to the Flames" is heavy as a payload of bedrock, but its driven by a bluesy, almost NWOBHM riff. "Patterns of Bane" dwells in a similar mid-paced neighborhood until the 2:00 mark, where a sudden blast-beat kicks in and launches the song into the stratosphere. Melody is never far behind though, and the song winds back down to the slower pace of a band like Crowbar. There's even an acoustic passage toward the end. It abounds with leads as well, silky smooth with a heavy bottom end to keep things, well, heavy.
These types of tempo and style changes feature in nearly every song on Echoes and Cinder, the band proving they are quite adept at making it all fit together. For example, instrumental track "Embers" is a wonderful interlude that shows these guys really know their chops. The track features piano, a warbling bass line that comes through clearly, some traditional drums and a whole lot of feeling in just 2:35. Not since "Dialogue With the Stars" (In Flames) or "A Departure in Solitude" (Naglfar) have I heard such a moving instrumental on a death metal album. The track gives way to the epic, galloping "To Break the Binds," one of the strongest songs on Echoes and Cinder.
"Riders" and "The Toll of Mourning" are built around similar galloping rhythms interspersed with breaks of slowed-down bluesy goodness. Each is punctuated by killer guitar solos. These songs should appeal to the doom crowd, the trad metal crowd, as well as the death metal maniacs. The growled vocals of Alex Butler may lack diversity, but they are sung mostly at a middle-of-the-road pitch that gets the job done admirably. When he goes low he sounds a bit like Johan Hegg (Amon Amarth), which isn't a bad thing. The fact that Butler's vocals are for the most part understandable fits with the music quite nicely.
With Echoes and Cinder, Ancient Ascendant have dropped a mighty gauntlet onto the death metal scene. Melding many styles of extreme metal and distilling them into a cohesive sonic soup is not an easy thing to do, and these UK lads do it well. If you long for the likes of Sacramentum, Destroyer 666, Edge of Sanity, and Unanimated, and you have a penchant for doom-laced riffage, then look no further. Ancient Ascendant have risen up to deliver the goods.
8/10
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