I took notice when this band’s album was announced because of the lineup: Eric Forrest of E-Force, formerly of Voivod (one of my favorite bands); Afzaal Deen and Fred Waring, formerly of Crisis; Dan Kaufman, formerly of Mindrot; and there’s more names in the band.
The bandmembers all add up to a whole on How the Mighty Have Fallen, the new Master’s Ashes album. They bring different parts: distorted and clean guitars, keyboard, and a brooding atmosphere complete with spoken word interludes. “Apocalyptic” is used to describe the music; yes, and that goes for the lyrics as well, with lines such as “Black smoke rises / From the pyre”.
I’ve always been a fan of Forrest’s tenure in Voivod and his work in Project: Failing Flesh; he can do a lot with his voice and has a commanding presence, and he takes advantage of that on the record. He and the rest of the band have delivered 11 songs (including interludes) of mid-paced, doomy, crunchy metal with lots of tom-tom work that has touches of some of the bands the members come from and, naturally with this style, a bit of Neurosis.
In advance of the album’s release, the record label put out some promo videos, below.
“Defiance Discorder” lyric video
And “Divert the Conflict III” visualizer
Again, while Master’s Ashes doesn’t shred or move fast, the band is kind of going for a crusty, no-gods-no-masters aesthetic, even though they don’t play d-beats or thrashy rhythms (keyboardist Katie Golden, a.k.a. Katie Crimson, most fits that bill with her image). But if you’re into a mid-tempo fist banging or headbang, Master’s Ashes will do it for you. And the record rocks.
Where to Get It
How the Mighty Have Fallen is out now on Time to Kill Records on CD, cassette, LP, and digital. It’s recommended.
Further Reading
I’ve covered Eric Forrest a few times before here at the blog.
And I interviewed Afzaal Deen and written about Crisis here as well.
Photo: Anubi Press
