ASHENSPIRE TO RELEASE "HOSTILE ARCHITECTURE"

 

PRESS RELEASE:

Unleashing on July 15, 2022 the Glaswegian avant-garde black metal act presents challenging and abrasive musical textures in a progressive, black metal framework.  

ASHENSPIRE debuted in 2017 on Code666 records with Speak Not of the Laudanum Quandary, a critique of British Imperialism. The new album Hostile Architecture is a commentary on the widening of the inconceivably vast wealth gap between capitalists and the working class, and growing alienation between one another. Musically the outfit create alluring and yet disturbing soundscapes which develop as the album progresses. Grounding the mood with intense dissonance and distortion, jazz influences and ethereal violin parts construct a stark contrast. The discomforting chaos emerges through contrapuntal melodies such as those used in "BÉTON BRUT". Manipulating dynamics amid tracks, and throughout Hostile Architecture, enhances the emotional anguish of ASHENSPIRE's powerful message. With an anguished tone, the unsettling vocal quartet in "HOW THE MIGHTY HAVE VISION" diverges significantly from the darker sounds that dominate elsewhere.

Hostile Architecture sees ASHENSPIRE leaning further into avant-garde jazz tendencies and black metal dissonance in a more full realization of their own Sprechstimme. Engaging with evolving compositional styles and experimental techniques, ASHENSPIRE are cultivating exceptional music.

The band has unleashed a video for their first single "Tragic Heroin" which you can watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBNY-l3NT9s 

Pre-order:  https://ashenspire.bandcamp.com/album/hostile-architecture

Album Credits: 

Music: Alasdair Dunn, Except for "BÉTON BRUT" (Scott McLean) and "HOW THE MIGHTY HAVE VISION" (Rylan Gleave).

Lyrics: Alasdair Dunn

Performers: 

Alasdair Dunn (voice, drums)

Fraser Gordon (guitars, voice)

Ben Brown (FALLOCH/BARSHASKETH, bass)

James Johnson (violin, voice)

Matthew Johnson (saxophone, voice)

Scott McLean (FALLOCH, Rhodes, prepared piano)

Rylan Gleave (ALL MEN UNTO ME, T/B voice)

Amaya Lopez-Carramerro (MAUD THE MOTH, S/A voice)

Otrebor (BOTANIST, hammered dulcimer)

Production, Recording and Mixing: Scott McLean at La Chunky Studios, Glasgow.

Mastering: Brad Boatright, Audiosiege Engineering

Art and Layout: Tobias Holmbeck

Links:

Bandcamp: ashenspire.bandcamp.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Ashenspire_

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ashenspire_/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Ashenspire