ASCENDANT – A Thousand Echoes

April might be to soon to make the call for Heavy Metal debut of the year, but Ascendant’s A Thousand Echoes would be a strong contender no matter what month it was. Exceptional production values, top-shelf performances, unique songcraft powered by palpable emotions—three of the five members of Ascendant grew up in Syria, their homeland now in the throes of a horrific civil war—and a few guest appearances make A Thousand Echoes a very complete, satisfying album. Drummer Aram Kalousdian hits hard, controlling the pace and anchoring a very heavy sound that allows for various Progressive touches on many of the songs—the chanting intro on “Fog Of War”, sound effects on “Doomsday Machine”, rattletrap cymbals on “Tears Of His Majesty”, excellent guitar harmonics on “False Illusion” and “Walls Between Us’, a song where Kalousdian sounds like he’s trying to bash through those walls with his sticks—or fists.

Cradle Of Filth’s Lindsay Schoolcraft adds an aura of menace and mystery on “Morning Light”with a beautiful multi-tracked vocal. Next up is a the nine-minute “Land Of A Thousand Echoes”, featuring guest performances from Simon and Elias Abou Assali, who themselves made a treacherous sea journey, reflective of the lyrics, to escape their war-torn homeland. In sections, the song is the slowest on the album, but derives it’s power from an ever-shifting musical tapestry and Youmni Abou Al Zahab’s strong vocals. Ending with the thirteen minute epic “At The End Of The World”, A Thousand Echoes is a complexly layered, monster slab of Metal, with hints of Iron Maiden and late-period Testament. Not to be missed.

TUNE INTO METALEXPRESSRADIO.COM at NOON & MIDNIGHT (EST) / 6:00 & 18:00 (CET) TO HEAR THE BEST TRACKS FROM THIS UPCOMING RELEASE!!!