Ash is a promising American black metal band and Boneyard is their self-produced demo limited to 213 copies. The band is currently negoatiating with labels for a proper release, and if this demo is any indication of their sound, it shouldn't take them too long to end up with a decent contract. Driven by only guitarist Narg and bassist/vocalist Borg, Ash embodies the grim, raw and cold aspects of Norwegian black metal and mixes them up with earlier 90's death metal riffage in the style of Dissection melodicism.
Their songs are generally grim, fast cuts littered with maniacal blastbeats, plenty of tremelo picked guitar fury, intoxicating vocals, and intense guitar work that defines the Ash sound. Narg's playing, though it may seem generic at face value, is actually very diverse, rendering the songs with huge, epic riffage as exemplified on the intro of "Human Cage" and enhanced through repetitive riffage and fast drumming. He also comes up with staggering guitar themes on the songs "Scars on the Sky" and "Black Grave", the enapsulation of black metal rawness and brutality. "Passage" shows the band's minimalistic riffery, slow, tortured vocals, whilst on the title track, they go back to their Swedish melodic side and explore some Darkthrone rawness played in a Dissection meets Edge of Sanity style.
The demo is wrapped up with the almost 8-minute Satyricon cover "In the Mist by the Hills", a song that is proof, with continued work, Ash are bound to become a kickass band in the USBM scene.
Track Listing
- Giving the Dead Sun Back
- This Vile Shade
- Human Cage
- Scars on the Sky
- The Mockery of Flesh
- Black Grave
- Passage
- Boneyard
- In the Mist by the Hills
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