Apoch's Metal Review - Rising: To Solemn Ash CD Review

Discography	Discography covers all information available up to day of review and is updated if future albums are reviewed.
Full-Length(s):	To Solemn Ash (2012)
EP(s):	Rising (2009)
Single(s):	Legacy of Wolves (2010)

Review

Exile on Mainstream Records has put out a good deal of rather unique or just all together different releases as of late. Many of them felt as though they were treading into experimental territory, or even just tried to take an artistic approach to whatever traditional style the band was mucking around in. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't. This is why the label signing Rising to their roster is a little interesting. The Denmark Groove/Sludge Metal band formed back in 2008, and was picked up by this label to issue their debut album, To Solemn Ash, for an early 2012 release date. But, when you sit back after hearing anything off it, you wonder whether or not this caters to what the record label's name suggests.

To Solemn Ash really isn't all that different a release or sound for the Sludge Metal style. Sure, there's a slight Groove Metal element too it, but overall the final product here actually doesn't seem experimental or in any way different from any other band of this approach. To put it simply, this album sounds like the mainstream equivalent of this sound. The guitars have a bit of an early eighties feel to them, coming through somewhat cleaner and just concentrating on sounding heavy to give the release a bit of an old-school "epic" approach that you might find in today's Sludge Metal that mixes some early Heavy Metal influences into it. The bass here also adds to the edge of the music, and is a louder roar that can easily be picked out in the music. Both instruments do hold a bit of a muffled tone, which is expected given the rawer audio quality of the recording. This also affects the drums, but not by simply pushing them back further in the mix. The kit is still vibrant in the recording, especially with the cymbals that crash pretty loud and can sometimes drown out the thicker snares and low, as well as the somewhat dull thud of the bass kick. The latter of the three still manages to do its job, but it's more noticeable in the slower tracks like "Cohorts Rise" where the guitars and cymbals lay off a bit to let the other parts of the kit stand out a little more aside a slightly blunt edge to certain snares you can pick up on, with or without really paying attention. But the vocals here are the loudest part of the music, and also end up being a little clearer than the instruments. Again, it's a more typical performance for the style, incorporating a slightly rough edge that is harmonized with the music, sometimes a little more exhilarated into a higher pitched shout, or even restrained to a deeper tone, allowing a good deal of range to show off.

The muffled audio has its pros and cons. The instruments do have some slightly off levels that can cause problems, but overall the sound gives it's a rawer quality that allows the album to feel a little dirtier and carry that early Metal sound well. But that's really where it all starts to draw the line. Many of the tracks here sound good, but much of the time you won't really be moved by what's presented here. For instance, "Mausoleum" starts off the track, and while it kicks things off on a good note, there are just some bridges that end up feeling bland against some really energetic performances. The riffs are nothing all that special, but there is a slight grand sensation to the song in the moments that stick out, like the main verses, and especially the chorus that finds the vocals putting a little more effort into the range. Again, it's a good start, but it doesn't really leave that much of an impact. "Sea of Basalt" does a better job with its heavier riffs during the verses, and somewhat over-the-top Heavy Metal influenced section prior to the chorus. This essentially sets up the rest of the album.

"Cohorts Rise," however, takes a bit of a different stand compared to the rest of the release. This one is a slower track that relies greatly on a melodic Sludge Metal approach that is meant to again be more epic, and it shows. It all starts out with a slow, decrepit acoustic-style piece that shifts into the actual song and electric instruments. The vocals are a little simplified, but the rougher approach with the harmonization suits in what seems like a song that would better fit a Folk or Viking Metal song, just using a Sludge Metal approach here instead. It lasts for a good while, but about the half way point is suddenly kicks in to a more traditional song for the style, but that reflective homage tone is still felt in the music.

But that's about all that can be said negatively, as well as all that's left to be said about the album in general. To Solemn Ash really isn't anything much to talk about other than a good album that, for the most part, follows the Sludge Metal book letter by letter. Rising really seems to play it safe track to track here. "Through the Eyes of Catalysis" does stand out a little more thanks to its additional energy and some faster material, as well as a far better guitar solo compared to pretty much all the others. Finally there's the only other really note worthy song "Passage" that introduces some tambourines into the mix and just makes it catchy in a far more melodic sense during the chorus, and in some bridges as well, but they usually end up leading into a chorus somehow.

While it doesn't really offer anything that new, fresh, or unique in any sense, Rising still do a good job for the most part. To Solemn Ash is an album that does stand out a little more than many of the stereotypical groups thanks to the energy they bring into it, but there's still plenty of other bands out there that fans of the Sludge Metal style in general will probably choose to listen to over this. With only a few songs on here that really do anything truly impressive or remotely different, the other songs end up playing it safe for the style, and end up making it an album you can just pick up on a rainy day and throw in for a spin or two at a later date, or even the near future, but that's about it if even that. Rising isn't a group to dismiss, and while To Solemn Ash isn't anything bad or boring, it's just one of those albums that seems to take the Sludge Metal Basic Compositions book and not really go any further than that.

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	Digital review copy of this release provided by: Exile on Mainstream Records via Earsplit PR.

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