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Florida-based band Stained Ashes released their album As Fear Consumes You on the 1st of August. Members Brandon Turner, Charlie Howell, Kenneth Ittig, and Joey Domenick are back, joined by newcomer Bobby Peppers and producer Drew Ray, who also worked on their EP Funeral Fire.
Half of As Fear Consumes You is a concept album based off a short story written by Brandon Turner. As Fear Consumes You shows the band's marked improvement, especially in the vocals, while minor key tonality and heavy drums / guitars give it a really gritty sound.
The album opens with 'Home,' where a long guitar crescendo leads into a truly impressive bit of rock vocals, shortly followed by a neat interplay between the singer and screamer. The two best songs on the album, 'Locked' and 'Pandemic', are next. 'Locked' is not actually very arresting until the singer picks up the melody from a screaming duet, at which point it sounds like something you'd play while driving too fast.
'Pandemic' on the other hand, is great from the moment the guitars pick a melody that sounds like it came out of a rock opera. The melody is similarly overdramatic goodness. Nothing like a little theatrical flair to show off the vocalist and whip up your emotions.
WATCH // Stained Ashes - Something Beautiful
Unfortunately, the rest of the album quickly loses quality. 'Something Beautiful' and 'No One' are the best the second half has to offer, 'Something Beautiful' featuring vocals that move in step with the guitars and a whisper that trickles against keyboards. Loving the slow keyboard introduction in 'No One', the first real ballad of the album, even though the vocals get a bit nasal.
The album ends with 'Rooms', which sounds much less professional than any song before it. The last song of the album should've been something with as much fever as 'Locked' or experimentation to match 'Small Town Revival.' Instead, 'Never Say Forever' is jumpy with an uninspired chorus.
On the whole, As Fear Consumes You is a step forward from a band that seems determined to push their music forward, experimenting simultaneously with lyrics, the voice as an instrument, and the best way to play instrument qualities off of each other. It's an improvement, but Stained Ashes have still got a long way to go. The lyrics are, almost without exception, lackluster, but the vocals mostly make up for that downfall.
Tracks to Listen to:
'Locked'
'Pandemic'
'Something Beautiful'
'No One'
As Fear Consumes You is Out Now/ August 1st, 2012.
Half of As Fear Consumes You is a concept album based off a short story written by Brandon Turner. As Fear Consumes You shows the band's marked improvement, especially in the vocals, while minor key tonality and heavy drums / guitars give it a really gritty sound.
The album opens with 'Home,' where a long guitar crescendo leads into a truly impressive bit of rock vocals, shortly followed by a neat interplay between the singer and screamer. The two best songs on the album, 'Locked' and 'Pandemic', are next. 'Locked' is not actually very arresting until the singer picks up the melody from a screaming duet, at which point it sounds like something you'd play while driving too fast.
'Pandemic' on the other hand, is great from the moment the guitars pick a melody that sounds like it came out of a rock opera. The melody is similarly overdramatic goodness. Nothing like a little theatrical flair to show off the vocalist and whip up your emotions.
WATCH // Stained Ashes - Something Beautiful
Unfortunately, the rest of the album quickly loses quality. 'Something Beautiful' and 'No One' are the best the second half has to offer, 'Something Beautiful' featuring vocals that move in step with the guitars and a whisper that trickles against keyboards. Loving the slow keyboard introduction in 'No One', the first real ballad of the album, even though the vocals get a bit nasal.
The album ends with 'Rooms', which sounds much less professional than any song before it. The last song of the album should've been something with as much fever as 'Locked' or experimentation to match 'Small Town Revival.' Instead, 'Never Say Forever' is jumpy with an uninspired chorus.
On the whole, As Fear Consumes You is a step forward from a band that seems determined to push their music forward, experimenting simultaneously with lyrics, the voice as an instrument, and the best way to play instrument qualities off of each other. It's an improvement, but Stained Ashes have still got a long way to go. The lyrics are, almost without exception, lackluster, but the vocals mostly make up for that downfall.
Tracks to Listen to:
'Locked'
'Pandemic'
'Something Beautiful'
'No One'
As Fear Consumes You is Out Now/ August 1st, 2012.
