Ascend is, at its core, a collaborative effort between Sunn 0))), Engine Kid, and Goatsnake's Greg Anderson and Iceburn and Eagle Twin's Gentry Densley, and also featuring contributions on trombone, organ, and Wurlitzer from Sunn 0))) and Earth collaborator, Steve Moore (a.k.a. Stebmo), on lead guitar from Bubba Dupree of Void (one of the finest hardcore bands of the 80's) and Kim Thayil of Soundgarden.
And, of course, a lineup this great doesn't disappoint. The debut album, Ample Fire Within, is all about slow funeral dirges with rough-throated vocals, a strangely jazzy feel, and some of the finest, sludgiest doom you'll find outside of a Sunn 0))) album.
“The Obelisk of Kolob” starts out the album with a heavily distorted drone. Before long, feedback starts cutting through it, and the band kicks the heaviness up to 11, with Andy Patterson's drumming giving it a sort of Burning Witch feel to it, but with far more melodic guitars that sound like they'll blow your speakers if they get any heavier. As they build, Stebmo's trombone comes in and adds a whole new dimension to the sound, and then it's over almost as fast as it began.
The title track, “Ample Fire Within” (also mentioned on the back of the promo as “Amplifier Within”) starts with a riff that sounds a lot like a jazzier Earth, which eventually turns into a building, discordant riff with Gentry's vocals buried underneath it. This gives way to an atmospheric drone courtesy of Stebmo's Wurlitzer. This gives way to more full-on doom, which is eventually invaded by speaker-shattering leads. The song ends with a strange Wurlitzer/guitar drone that sounds like someone trying to imitate the Sputnik satellite with their instruments.
“Divine” feature's Gentry channeling Tom Waits, surprisingly effectively, over a slow, heavy, and yet sparse guitar/Wurlitzer backing with plenty of time to sit back and reflect on itself without ever relieving any of the tension it's built. The guitar/Wurlitzer/trombone breakdown (not like metalcore) near the end is really cool.
“V O G” opens with what sounds like a bagpipe far off in the distance, with marching drums, all of which turns into another sped-up, Sunn 0))) style sludge riff.. This track features Bubba Dupree and Kim Thayil on lead guitar. The classic doom vocals don't come in until almost five minutes in. What I really love about this track is that you can pretty easily pick out who's playing which guitar on lead.
“Dark Matter” opens with Stebmo's organ and low, doomy vocals and detuned, Earth style guitar drones. The organ really makes this track, providing a backbone of creepy drones that holds everything else together, and there is a lot going on here. About halfway through, the trombone supplements the organ's drones as the riffing gets heavier and the drums come in. Then the riffing gets about as straight-up metal as the context of this album allows, with a triumphantly stoned doom crescendo somewhat reminiscent of Candlemass.
Basically, this is one of the best metal albums I've heard so far (so far, because I have a stack of seven more that Vu sent me that I have yet to listen to), this year. If you consider yourself a self-respecting metalhead, and you're into doom, this one is pretty much a no-brainer. Pick it up!
More info can be found at Southern Lord's official site
-soup
