The Portuguese band Ashes presents a bloody retelling of "Alice in Wonderland" on Ecila, its first official release. ("Ecila" is "Alice" spelled backwards.) Although this sextet describes its sounds as "alternative-rock-metal," the six songs on this 34-and-a-half-minute CD include snippets of prog, post-grunge and death metal, along with too many thrashy vocals. Parts of the title track, for example, recall Dead Soul Tribe, and elements of The Devin Townsend Project can be heard in "Hall of Mirrors." But David Pais' obnoxious thoaty delivery overpowers the music, and the lack of song variety — too many cuts are stuck in the same tempo, and open softly before turning into chaos — ensure that not a lot happens here. The addition of a female vocalist on "Queen of Thy Black Hearts," though, adds a gothic-metal touch and provides some space in between Ecila's denseness.
Track Listing:
1) Ecila
2) Hall of Mirrors
3) The Kind of Strange
4) Rewind
5) Queen of They Black Hearts
6) Redemption
Printer Friendly Page
Send to a Friend
