Aosoth, Ashes of Angels
Is there a deep, dark dungeon beneath the mighty weight of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France? A perpetual blizzard atop it’s mighty peak?
No? Well, then how to explain this blasphemous, dissonant and bleak black metal with more than enough malevolent atmosphere leached from the catacombs of the very same city that Aosoth hail from. Featuring the lead singer of on-hiatus(?) Antaeus, MkM, as well as ex-Aborted guitarist Sebastian Tuvi on guitars, this two man effort lets loose with cold atmospheric black metal delivered quickly and ferociously.
While the songs on Ashes of Angels are unrelenting in nature and evil by default, they aren’t necessarily all that original. The band’s sound sort of falls in line with the likes of Deathspell Omega. The production is strong and powerful, but has a rawness that gives the album a desolate and more atmospheric feel.
Songs Without Lungs
The opening song wastes little time getting down to business with some seriously evil riffing and maniacal drumming all shrouded in darkness and textures atmosphere. The song is damned catchy with a decent rhythm and melancholy guitars. Vocally, MkM sits more in the background, playing more of a supporting role to the swelling atmosphere and mood. This isn’t a droning, static filled Xasthur EP mind you. This thing is ripping black metal at it’s more ferocious and bleakest.
Ashes Of Angels
The title track is definitely the standout song on the album. There’s a decent dose of melody injected into the cold veins of the guitars as MkM screams beneath the barren funeral drapings. This is a violent song that will drag you straight to hell given half a chance. The guitars are catchy as fuck. The drum work is spot on shifting from groove oriented chugging to godless blasting blasphemies (try and say that three times real fast). Holy hell this song kicks ass.
Path Of Twisted Light
“Path Of Twisted Light” slows things down a bit with evil guitars that build up methodically to swirling black metal that never really takes off in any one violent direction, yet surrounds you in a veil of grim and disheartening textures. This is one hell of an evil song that very well could have a few of you thinking of offing your corpse-painted-selves. This song ebbs and churns just out of site in the deepest, blackest bowels of whatever you call Hell. The track finally erupts just after the 3:30 mark with a cacophonous blast of vileness and manic drums before settling back into it’s predetermined flight path into your souless sack of flesh.
Embrace And Enlightenment
Where the previous track took it time, “Embrace And Enlightenment” does the complete opposite, tearing at your flesh and soul with violent drums and driving riffs. There’s still more than enough atmosphere covering the thundering rhythms and vile vocals. This thing is a wall of blasphemies if ever there was one. All I gotta say is bring some holy water.
Teaching/Erasing
“Teaching/Erasing” is another stand out song on the disc. The vocals fall further into the background as the textured atmosphere takes on more of a prominent position within the bands sound. This is a powerful song even in it’s slower moments. Overall, the song is a swirling mass of tortured souls that will leave you dizzy. The guitar and vocal combination around the two minute mark is pretty damned sick.
Summon The Dead
The warbling sounds piled on top of the dissonant opening guitar work is a nice touch that adds some depth to the bands sound and there isn’t a more appropriately titled song on the album. MkM’s screams accompanied by the blasting drums are sure to cause enough of a commotion to wake the dead from the nearest cemetery.
Cries Out Of Heaven
I love the way the melancholy riffs of “Cried Out of Heaven” fade in smoothly from the previous track. It makes for a great listening experience. The thick bass lines that accompany the higher toned guitars is a great touch and shows some creativeness within the song writing. This is another atmospheric epic of a track chock full of thick rhythms and vocal destruction.
Communion Through Pain
The thick wall of sound continues with this next track as the pummeling drums never transition smoothly from the previous song and carry the dissonant guitars along nicely. The vocals once again slip to the background a bit adding to the dense sound the band has been oozing throughout the album. The uptempo feel to the song is infectious as it slithers beneath the swarming and demonic bees that buzz throughout the song.
Banished
Wow. After the brief swirling sound effect that opens up the song, the guys get down to some serious business with this ferociously delivered bag of mayhem. This is pile driving, blasting black metal that never lets up from the gas pedal as the band runs you down with evil guitars and drums that could collapse cranial cavities. This is the fiercest song on the album by far and really shows that these dudes can forego the atmosphere for a full one blasphemous beat down, pure and simple. Easily, my favorite track on the album.
Inner War
This is a cover from MkM’s other band, Antaeus, that I am completely unfamiliar with. It starts off with industrial noise and some distant, distorted sound clips before erupting into machine gun drums and driving guitars. This and the previous song, “Banished,” are the more beastly tracks on the album and really pack a wallop in wrapping up a pretty damned impressive disc.
~ ~ ~
Additional Notes:
N/A