Reviews list for Ashenspire - Hostile Architecture (2022)

If Ashenspire did have any black metal roots then they've certainly been tossed aside for this highly regarded sophomore effort, haven't they? It's definitely an unusual release & one that does sit pretty comfortably under the avant-garde progressive metal tag. The most noteworthy elements on display are the theatrical & almost psychotic clean vocals of drummer Alasdair Dunn who continues to rant like a man possessed in his unapologetically Scottish accent throughout the entire tracklisting, mostly speaking or shouting more than actually singing. The other is the use of some extremely jarring time signatures that do tend to interrupt the flow of the song-writing at times. The ambition is undeniable but the execution isn't quite what I'd hoped, particularly the performance of Dunn behind the kit as his drum sound isn't ideal for metal (it's more in line with jazz) & he sounds pretty messy when he gets his blast beats on. The use of violin is done very well & brings to mind Ne Obliviscaris as it provides a little stability in even the most chaotic of movements while the overtly Scottish & emotionally charged vocals combine with some of the more sweeping black metal oriented chord progressions to remind me of Irish folk metal legends Primordial. The sheer insanity & creativity is more in line with a band like Arcturus though.

As you can probably tell, I struggled with "Hostile Architecture" a little bit at times but I can't deny that my overall impressions after four full listens were generally positive. There's no doubt that it's Dunn that's my major obstacle here & I can't deny that I would greatly prefer a more traditional & talented front man but I think I find it hard not to look on a pure form of artistic expression like this one with fondness & endearment as it's not all that common in a market that's saturated by copy cats. In saying that though, I can't say that I'm likely to return to the album in the future. It's an experience that I'm glad that I've had but it simply doesn't tick enough of my boxes to command any level of adoration.

For fans of Primordial, Ne Obliviscaris & Arcturus.

2022 has been a surprisingly good year for post-rock so far. Perhaps this year was a bad one to finally hang up the reviewing jacket since it was, in fact, post-rock that eventually led to my departure in the first place. 2021 was such a boring year for all different styles of post-rock and adjacent music. Leave it to Black Country, New Road and foxtails in hardcore punk to give me one final hurrah at the start of this year before being swamped with a bunch of indistinguishable mush and my eventual departure.

Of course, it was likely that post-metal would have to get involved in this somehow. And since my review retirement did not include heavy metal, I figured I would give the new Ashenspire album, Hostile Architecture, a spin or two. And as much as I do not want to admit it, it is albums just like this one that distanced me from the critical world of album reviews.

Let's start off with the positives because there are a lot of them. The production of this album is splendid. This album has great chemistry between the guitars and bass lines. I personally found the guitars to sound a little groggy during the heavy chugging passages, but an album like this does not focus on metalcore adjacent breakdowns and mixing very much. The percussion is top notch, borrowing a lot from black metal with some ferocious blast beat patterns that do not become overbearing. While the vocals did take a little bit of time to get used to, I found them to be quite strong, especially with the precise pronunciation and diction. And I would be remised if I didn't mention the quasi jazz saxophone solos that appear on this record sporadically. The horns sound dark and full instead of the brighter sounds that run rampant on a number of recent metal albums, from bands such as White Ward.

But my biggest issue with this album is the content. Now look, I'm not going to come on here and bash the album for its timeliness and cringe inducing lyricism; especially sine it is coming from a political point of view that I abandoned a long time ago. But let's compare it to Ants From Up There by Black Country, New Road from earlier this year. That album was not necessarily political, but it had an arc surrounding it that was brought forth in the music. Hooks were sparse, but small vocal motifs were allowed to resonate and give them a quiet anthemic feel. By comparison sake, Hostile Architecture doesn't have motifs either, but the vocals are so flustered and all over the place that they don't provide the listener with any sort of anthemic power. To me, the vocals of Hostile Architecture sound like a sermon; a sermon that I hopelessly tuned out of as early as "Béton Brut".

There is a reason why Rage Against the Machine's music is so poignant to this day, and it's not because of the messaging. It's the timelessness of it all, plus the quick jabs during their choruses are so instantly anthemic. Ashenspire created an album here that has populism, and you could make the argument that the vocals are delivered with power, but the precision is severely lacking. I would like this album more if it was just an instrumental one.

Best Songs: Plattenbau Persphone Praxis, Tragic Heroin, Apathy as Arsenic Lethargy as Lead