Independent Release
Review by Tony Cannella
The operatic, Symphonic Metal band hails from Los Angeles, California, and has just issued their debut 3-song self-titled EP. This 6-member outfit features 3 females and 3 males and the high quality music on their debut is the type of material that one would envision coming from a seasoned European band, not an upstart project from the U.S. Yet, after listening to the 3-songs and 17-minutes worth of music here, it becomes abundantly clear that Ashentide has a lot to offer the Symphonic Metal Genre.The opening track “Homelands” gets things off to a rollicking start as the beautiful operatic vocals of Lenore Young are complimented by some inspired, heavy riffing. The next track is “Ondine’s Curse” and the tempo is slowed down a bit on this one, but the song is no less heavy than the previous one and features another solid riff. The best is saved for last (in my opinion) with the dramatic, symphony euphoric closing number “Purgatory”. Occasionally a new band comes along that really asserts itself as ‘one to watch’, for me Ashentide is that band. I really loved this EP; of course the only negative that I can think of is that it is only 3-songs and 17-minutes. As far as I know, Ashentide has not yet been signed, so here is hoping that some label (Napalm Records for instance?) will step up to the plate and give this deserving band a home. They would be a worthy addition to the roster of any label.
Rating – 95/100
Tracklist
- Homelands
- Ondine’s Curse
- Purgatory
Line Up
- Lenore Young – Vocals
- Andy Faust – Guitar
- Jelena Kelaeno – Guitar
- Overlord Tom – Drums
- Anastasia Devana – Keyboards
- Edwin Markarian – Bass
Links
MySpace * ReverbNation * Facebook * Twitter * Site