ASHES OF DECAY – Resurrect

Ashes Of Decay comes in with a second album for 2008 after five years without a release. Resurrect is an example of a release that follows tradition without any hints or twists to left or right. These people have played Thrash Metal with various Heavy Metal dosages since their beginning in 1999. If like your Thrash Metal slow to mid tempo without too much speed, this album is for you, but as said before, nothing is special around here.

Calling this release as an Old School turn out would not be that accurate. The first thing that jumps in as an Old School marker is the production which makes the whole package deal sound like it’s from the late 80s or early 90s that in many cases showed the crunchy and trebled sound of guitars mainly in the American and German scenes. What is different from Old School Thrash are some of the riffs, which tend to sound darker than others, you can sense a bit of a doomy approach and the grey color comes to mind. A good thing here is that the themes of the songs fit the music. Still this one is not a shining beacon for these guys. Their musical approach of a darkened Thrash / Heavy Metal has great potential in it but it seems hard for the listener to get a decent connection to it, even after hearing it more than a couple of times.

Moreover, the guys themselves are capable and talented musicians. They were able, since their first album, to create that grey environment of theirs, which is full of themes, which under them their music can flourish, but Resurrect is only a decent example from a band that can do more than that. Some will say that the best way is maybe to speed things up a bit or maybe be more aggressive and less emotional. However, this is not the answer; the band is competent enough to continue on their own way without changing their image.

The positive thing to say about Ashes Of Decay is that they made Thrash / Heavy Metal ballads like the semi-ballad, “Your Gone”, which really shows the pain of a deserted person, especially in the wah-wah solo part. “Until We Die” is less heavy but is well performed by a great vocalist and followed by a very nice rhythm and a good solo section, which channels exactly what the guys wanted. The singer here sounds like a late version of Paul Di’Anno. If you are a fan, check out this singer’s other doings on this album.

Other good songs from this one are: “Who Watch Me Now”, that was also featured on W.Y.A.T and is an Old School Thrash Metal mid-tempo killer. “My Warning” has an awesome slow solo break and has some unexpected parts which can get the sort of reactions from the listeners that some will like and some won’t.

If you are an avid music collector then this one’s for you. If you aren’t, you can check it out and make your own judgment and give these guys a chance. If you don’t know them too well, hear them on MySpace and try to get a hold of their debut CD. Resurrect is not their final word, the chains are still there, just watch the ashes flow.