Search - Ascend :: Ample Fire Within

A New Testament

D. Fonnesbeck | Utah | 06/18/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"For longtime fans of esoteric hard and heavy music of the last 20 years or so, hearing that Greg Anderson (Engine Kid, Goatsnake, Sunn 0)))) and Gentry Densley (Iceburn, Form of Rocket, Eagle Twin) have a new project called Ascend might lead some of us to believe we're in for a reunion of the self-indulgent straight-edge hardcore that gave birth to both of their musical careers.



Fortunately, these old friends have newly joined forces to explore more deeply the respective and mutual musical strengths that each has all but perfected after these long years. And Ascend seems a perfect moniker for a project that has set out not only to become a musical and metaphysical elevator for the collective musicians themselves, but also a lesson in taste, restraint, beauty and power for the music audience at large.



`Obelisk of Kolob' is a guided tour around the throne room of the album's resident deity. A musical invitation to seat oneself at the hand of God and have creation's hard truths and transmutations demystified. Like any walk up the mountain the payoff is the unobstructed view. The opening sounds of tape machines playing deeply detuned and overdriven guitar and bass tones give the distinct impression that there was no shortage of amplifier power for these recording sessions. By the time the drums work through the tune's structure, it's already over. Less is always more when you can see into eternity.



The title track is the most obvious homage to the unifying force behind this project: The strength of amplified guitar sounds and deceptively complex and powerful musical structure. Like Joe Zawinul on Quaaludes, the organ's refrain of the main chord pattern still baffles you even at quarter speed while the guitars push more force through the vintage speaker cabinets than they were ever meant to bear.



`Divine' is probably the most challenging track on the record for an uninitiated listener. Another fusion-drone motif leads to an incredibly emotive vocal performance. Never prone to make a vocal part any more important to a song than a vehicle for poignant lyrics, Densley sings in a way here that leaves me wondering what is more important, the singer or the song. In this case, both are very moving, his voice and lyrics have never been better. Think Blind Willie Johnson by way of Huun-Huur-Tu. Steve Moore's organ work and trombone solo lend light for the huge musical shapes to cast shadows over the Crow's death-soaked dominion.



`V O G' is an exercise in just how heavy this band can be. The riff and huge martial drum pattern drown out any hope for extremely tasteful guitar solos by Bubba Dupree and Kim Thayil to steal any thunder from this story of men and monsters. Ascend have transcended themselves by this point in the album and are greater than the sum of their parts. It's not just music anymore; they've set the stage for a ritual of sound and fury.



`Her Horse Is Thunder' takes us down from the mountain and into the western deserts. A Ghost Dance incantation for the reclamation of stolen lands. A great storm where torrential rains wash walls of mud and debris through cities of time. This is a huge bass line. These are the guitar solos these men have been chasing down for two decades. Andy Patterson's heavy handed and immaculately paced drum and cymbal strikes prove that the heartbeat of hardcore music is still alive and well and residing somewhere in the wild west.



The album closes with `Dark Matter' and its fitting meditation on what we've been shown here: These two bandleaders have been around the block. Anderson's harrowing journey thorough the darkest and heaviest corners of modern music coupled with Densley's fearless exploration in musical technique, composition and mood have come together in a truly uplifting and spiritually satisfying listening experience."

Resonance

K. Brigance | Where East Meets West | 01/29/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"During one of those long and pointless phone calls one has with an old college buddy the question arose, "So, what have you been listening to lately?". I replied the new Opeth, of course, as well as St. Vitus and Trouble, and then this new project on Southern Lord called Ascend. My old friend asked what Ascend were like, and I began to stutter. I, a person who gets his kicks from writing overwrought reviews on Amazon, could not for the life of me explain what is heard on "Ample Fire Within". Later it struck me...Ascend possess a sound that one cannot explain because it has yet to be explained.



Ascend, composed of Greg Anderson and Gentry Densley backed by several other Southern Lord all-stars (including Steve Moore, Attila Csihar, and Kim Thayil), are clearly rooted in doom and drone, but present something new and singular. I like to use the following metaphor to help explain Ascend's place in the church of amplification's hierarchy: if Orthodox are plebian fanatics and Sunn0))) are high priests, then Ascend just might be the returning call of the diety.



Whereas Sunn0))) and Earth would play a cloudy and ethereal drone, Ascend harnesses the drone and streamline it. Controlled is not the word to use, but Ascend's sound is so ritualistic and tribal that psychedelic meanderings are sacrificed for the sake of a more focused sense of purpose. Like Om on the wonderful "Pilgrimage", Ascend's power is drawn from visceral rhythms that meld the power of amplification with the intensity of religious fervency. "Ample Fire Within" is a transcendental affair; taking the active listener onto meditative planes that call forth reverberatiions of The Earth's vast Amplification.



This band reeks of wisdom. The lyrics, sung at a pace akin to the world's turn, are like poetic fables passed down from the elders of an ancient civilization. Songs invoke images of nature's infinite grandeur, of the beast and of the human spirit, and of man's place in eternity. Guitar, or the drone and echo created thereof, is the primary instrument here. Textures are created that exhibit the harmonious and/or disruptive dynamic of man and nature's spirit. This is the recreation of Earth's (the planet, not the band) sonic frequencies by men adhering to a rigorous prayer schedule in the church of the amplifier.



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