Style: black metal
Primary Emotions/Themes: decay, sombreness, and the dreary doldrums of life
Thoughts: It's raining for the thirteenth straight day. The ground is saturated with water. The rivers overflow and the nearby houses risk flooding. With each passing day the misery grows. This is the realm in which Ashes create their music from.
Ashes play black metal with a definitive gloomy bent to it. For the most part the band stays away from blast beats and the more typical speed of the genre. Rather they favor a slower or mid paced style that leans heavily into the misery that sorrow laden riffs can create.
The band has a large variety of tempos on the album, but they are at their best when things are a bit slower. This allows the misery from their melodies to ruminate and fester in the listener. They are given time to sink in and convey the layer upon layer of utter misery that this music brings.
The faster moments, while still gloomy, don't quite have the same effect as the slower ones. It's almost as if the band throws these moments in to remind the listener that "yes, we are a black metal band, here's a faster tempo to remind you." Or something of the sort. Ultimately they are fine for what they are, but man I feel like the band would be so much better if they focused more on the slower parts.
That said Gloom, Ash, And Emptiness on the Horizon is a really well done album. The majority of the release fully conveys every emotion that is in the title and the band does not shy away from the misery that is associated with it. The band shows a ton of potential and I think with a bit more focus and refinement they can create something exceptional in the genre.
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