| This review was written by Endorphin and originally appeared at EMforum.nl
Cult Of Ashand - "Chapter One - The Beginning", "Sequence Of Events"
When listening to a new album, it is always refreshing to hear the work of a band who have approached a genre (in this case 'ambient') from an oblique and unusual angle that pays off and then some! COA's sound is derived from an extremely unlikely mixture, imagine avante-garde aesthetics combined with cold, dark electronics topped with a liberal sprinkling of prog and space rock and you'd be forgiven for making your excuses and leaving right now!
However, please bear with me! The best way to convey COA is to imagine your favourite curry on the menu at your local Tandoori. A lot of spices and herbs will have gone into creating say your mouth-watering Chicken Jalfrezi as an example. Tasted individually, these ingredients are often bitter and unpalatable, but given some skilled blending by someone who knows exactly what they are doing and a mouth watering dish is the end result. And that folks is exactly what we have here!
COA (aka John Sherwood (4m33s) and Steve Munslow (Hyperdriver & HyperEx Machina)) are exponents of a damn fine dark ambient/space rock hybrid. Their soundscapes are places of uncompromising bleakness which sometimes border on the unnerving but which are strangely compelling. As a starting point, think of a darker more experimental sounding C.H.A.O.S with industrial overtones that doffs its hard hat towards Hawkwind.
A variety of moods and styles are encountered across the two albums:
First up we have "Chapter One - The Beginning". This album is cinematic in scope with robotic narrative relating a dark fantasy saga (I'm reminded of Hawkwind's homage to Moorcock with their opus "Chronicle Of The Black Sword"). The story is well told and holds your attention but no spoilers here so moving swiftly on! I will touch on a few highlights rather than do a track by track review:
There's the seething and discordant “Leviathan” with its slow, relentless driving rhythm and nagging guitar riff emerging from the depths and cutting through the dense aquatic electronics. By way of contrast, the beautifully mournful and reflective “A Call To Arms” evokes images of a war torn banner fluttering poignantly in a ravaged landscape, whilst the “Eye of Ashand” casts its melancholic gaze across a barren, cold and inhospitable waste. A deep almost subsonic wall of sound accompanied by howling wind is punctuated by intermittent swathes of harsh guitar and atmospherics. This is inspired sonic landscaping at its best and for some reason I am reminded of H P Lovecraft's classic story “At The Mountains Of Madness”. "The Besiegement Of The House Of Ashand", broken down into three sections, gradually builds up in intensity as the story reaches it's climax and the third part "Fear the Reaper" is a seething maelstrom of some ferocious guitar playing over a backdrop of unsettling synths.
On their latest offering "Sequence Of Events", we see a continuation of the story begun in "Chapter One - The Beginning" although there is less narrative this time. Proceedings kick off with the patient and gradual build-up of "Fanfare" and then, at the 5 minute mark, the track changes into the more unsettling "Storm Sequence" which is punctuated by eerie noises and then, out of nowhere, a sequence starts to emerge and the track develops a strident cohesion and even greater power whilst losing none of it's malevolence. Then, as you think things couldn't get any better, Steve unleashes an excellent guitar playing that takes the track into another dimension completely. "Evocation" starts off with a pulsing percussive build up with some menacing guitar lines over the top and sounds like a bleaker more industrial version of mid 80's Hawkwind, this is toe-tappingly fantastic and crys out to be played loud!
"Talisman" sees a more reflective laid back approach and a bit of a breather after all the intensity of the previous tracks. The brew offered by "Cauldron of Charms" is wonderfully delicate and restrained with hypnotic and soothing sequences. Then the sense of discord and menace starts to build up again with the predominately electronic "A Circle is Cast". The sinister almost robotic sounding "We are the Cult of Ashand" mantra fade out in the eponymously named track is a dark statement of intent and defiance. “The Spell” sees an introduction of dark drones and atmospherics. These give way unexpectedly to a haunting almost Cure/Joy Division like guitar line against which a second guitar provides a more distorted sounding lead as a counterpoint - true shards of crystalline beauty permeating the blackness. Then the track simply soars with John unleashing an anthemic and uplifting synth melody over the top. Moody but majestic stuff. On several tracks COA use this "darkness before dawn" approach to awesome effect, the contrast between bleakness and beauty, despair and hope being underlined and emphasised. The concluding "Dream Demon" is a strange beast, it's not the cacophanous crescendo that you'd might expect. The track is a much slower atmospheric number that sounds almost understated in a way and my feeling is that maybe the album needed to finish on a much stronger sounding piece of music but that's a very minor criticism.
Anyone content to generalise and write off ambient based music as pleasantly innocuous fare to chill out to had better think again. There's nothing pink or fluffy about COA's clouds, theirs are a more ominous malevolent storm filled blackness that draws inexorably nearer. It's fair to say therefore that there's no middle ground with COA, their sound is uncompromising together with their fusion of various styles and you'll either love it or hate it - I rather suspect that they want it that way. Dismissing COA as being just "alright" definitely isn't an option here! In today's climate of many electronic musicians tending to take a more sequencer driven Berlin School route, it's always nice to hear some electronic based music that takes a different path well off the beaten track and who aren't afraid to include various and diverse influences into their music.
Be warned though, COA do make for unashamedly challenging listening in places, you need to give these albums your full attention to really appreciate them. Those expecting pleasant Tangerine Dream-esque background music are advised to look elsewhere! However, if you take time to really listen to and explore these albums and experience all the subtle and not so subtle nuances, then your patience will most definitely be rewarded. A genre-defining couple of albums from a truly unique and innovative act, watch this space as they say or even better, turn out the lights, plug in the headphones and immerse yourself in it!
© Endorphin 2006
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