Great (four stars out of five)
I'm a strong believer that, with strong songwriting, any melding of styles can be successful. Fusion jazz with tribal percussion influences? Why not! In the case of Ashent's Deconstructive, the combination of styles isn't quite that extreme, but the band does find a niche that isn't often filled in the progressive rock/metal world. For another band, this sound might not work. But for Ashent--a band that has proven that it can craft fantastic songs--the sound is quite successful, making Deconstructive a great listen if your tastes align with the band's approach.
There are a lot of different elements that go into the band's sound, but perhaps the best way to describe Ashent is "In Flames meets Coheed and Cambria." The majority of the band's songs have a similar catchiness to Coheed and Cambria, though their approach to songwriting seems slightly more mature and certainly heavier and more progressive. The band's vocalist, Steve Braun, also shares a vocal approach somewhat similar to Coheed and Cambria as well, at least in terms of the somewhat high register that he stays within. Though where many people find that band's vocals annoying, the same problem likely won't be present with Braun's performances.
Now, listeners will immediately notice the thrash and death elements in here as well. The beginning of the disc's first track, "Sinking Beneath," definitely displays the band's thrash tendencies, as the instrumentation is fast and heavy. Nearly all of the tracks have supporting death vocals as well. Now, I say supporting because the growls are almost never isolated; instead, they're used to support Braun's singing as backing vocals. There are times where the growls are front and center, and there are some all-out screams on the album, as on the beginning of "Spectral Vanity," but those listeners who would rather try to ignore the growls can do so without too much trouble.
As said before, everything works well here largely due to the fantastic songwriting abilities of the band's members. Despite the variety of sounds on the album, each track is built around some extremely strong vocal melodies that serve as the link that ties everything together. Throughout the album, you'll hear tracks that change more times than you can count: the songs' tempos are especially erratic, and songs go from soft to very heavy in an instant. But never do the songs sound unfocused or muddled, and this is thanks to the memorable vocal melodies. In addition, the songs are relatively short by progressive standards, but the many changes help them feel longer than they really are.
Now, the fact that the growls play a supporting role and can largely be ignored begs the question: are they necessary? Because they mostly stick to the backgrounds, the growls don't really stand as an integral part of the band's sound, and with such a fantastic lead vocalist, I found myself mostly wishing that they weren't there. The band's instrumentation more than sufficiently conveys a sense of aggression despite the clean vocals of lead singer Steve Braun. In the end, it's not that the growling is bad: it's that Braun's singing is so much better.
Who is Ashent's Deconstructive meant for? It's hard to say. The typical "For fans of..." simply doesn't work here, as Ashent not only has dabbles in many different musical areas, but also manages to do them better than many of those similar bands. Perhaps I could recommend this for people who really wanted to like Coheed and Cambria or In Flames, but just couldn't. Overall, it's a disc that any listener should check out, as the great songs here have the potential to appeal to listeners who wouldn't usually enjoy similar bands.
Andrew Kauz
www.progressivemelodies.com
There are a lot of different elements that go into the band's sound, but perhaps the best way to describe Ashent is "In Flames meets Coheed and Cambria." The majority of the band's songs have a similar catchiness to Coheed and Cambria, though their approach to songwriting seems slightly more mature and certainly heavier and more progressive. The band's vocalist, Steve Braun, also shares a vocal approach somewhat similar to Coheed and Cambria as well, at least in terms of the somewhat high register that he stays within. Though where many people find that band's vocals annoying, the same problem likely won't be present with Braun's performances.
Now, listeners will immediately notice the thrash and death elements in here as well. The beginning of the disc's first track, "Sinking Beneath," definitely displays the band's thrash tendencies, as the instrumentation is fast and heavy. Nearly all of the tracks have supporting death vocals as well. Now, I say supporting because the growls are almost never isolated; instead, they're used to support Braun's singing as backing vocals. There are times where the growls are front and center, and there are some all-out screams on the album, as on the beginning of "Spectral Vanity," but those listeners who would rather try to ignore the growls can do so without too much trouble.
As said before, everything works well here largely due to the fantastic songwriting abilities of the band's members. Despite the variety of sounds on the album, each track is built around some extremely strong vocal melodies that serve as the link that ties everything together. Throughout the album, you'll hear tracks that change more times than you can count: the songs' tempos are especially erratic, and songs go from soft to very heavy in an instant. But never do the songs sound unfocused or muddled, and this is thanks to the memorable vocal melodies. In addition, the songs are relatively short by progressive standards, but the many changes help them feel longer than they really are.
Now, the fact that the growls play a supporting role and can largely be ignored begs the question: are they necessary? Because they mostly stick to the backgrounds, the growls don't really stand as an integral part of the band's sound, and with such a fantastic lead vocalist, I found myself mostly wishing that they weren't there. The band's instrumentation more than sufficiently conveys a sense of aggression despite the clean vocals of lead singer Steve Braun. In the end, it's not that the growling is bad: it's that Braun's singing is so much better.
Who is Ashent's Deconstructive meant for? It's hard to say. The typical "For fans of..." simply doesn't work here, as Ashent not only has dabbles in many different musical areas, but also manages to do them better than many of those similar bands. Perhaps I could recommend this for people who really wanted to like Coheed and Cambria or In Flames, but just couldn't. Overall, it's a disc that any listener should check out, as the great songs here have the potential to appeal to listeners who wouldn't usually enjoy similar bands.
Andrew Kauz
www.progressivemelodies.com
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