Ashes You Leave – The Passage Back to Life ...

Eastern Europe isn't known for its Metal, or music in general. There are very few bands that come out and the ones that do, typically aren't very good and/or fade away shortly afterwards. This band however, has been in the game for sometime and given their geographic location actually deliver the goods consistently. Their début album is nothing short of flagrant MDB worship, with that said, it’s a very good début for what it is, but it looses points due to its lack of originality. This album is akin to a slower 'As the Flower Withers' era MDB. There is a weeping violin, slow romantic passages, and bursts of speed here and there. The biggest difference between this and MDB would be there is a female vocalist number one and number two she is the primary vocalist.

Regarding the vocals, for starters they’re very different. Most people expect a female vocalist to sound like Christina, Tarja, or Anneke, trained and/or with a great range. This isn't the case here. Dunja has a good voice, but it’s more of a lower to mid range alto and it adds a different quality to the music at large. She does wail in a few places here and there but her unique vocals add a haunting sense of desperation and longing that would otherwise be lost if she was a full-blown soprano. There is a tangible yet ethereal presence in her voice that is simply wonderful.

The male vocal presence is scant at best and is more in the old school style of cookie monster growls. Not a whole lot else can be said; aside from they fit the music as well as can be expected. The guitars are fairly thick and heavy. They have a keen sense of melody, but once again, they do borrow an obscene amount of riffs from MDB. There aren’t any solos but a lot of good leads. Dreary and woeful are the sounds they create. The bass more or less follows the guitars and the drums are standard for the given style but pretty good. There are some keyboards present adding a very strong depressive atmosphere. They aren't played constantly and are more or less used for filler between songs and intro/outros, but they are used to good effect. The violin is also played well, but a little too close to Martins style (the keys are in the same boat most of the time). The violin isn’t as prominent in the songs either.

The production is surprisingly good for an eastern European band, with the overall quality of the material exceptionally high. While not the most original it’s certainly delivered with precision and conviction. You could certainly do far worse. This gets a 8/10.

Review Written By Grimdoom

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