Release
date: August
23rd
2019. Label: Self Released. Format: DD/Vinyl
Ascendant
– Tracklisting
1.The
Omicron 02:59
2.Moon
Ritual 05:15
3.The
Reptilian Eye 04:46
4.Too
Terrified 01:31
5.Comply
or Ignore 05:05
6.The
Ascendant 05:42
7.Implant
03:56
8.Here's
Condemnation 01:59
9.Apocalypse
of Baruch 04:28
10.Faults
De Massif 03:47
Members
Whitman,
Price, and Haddad
Review
Problem
With Dragons unexpectedly returned with their new album –
Ascendant. It was a complete surprise for myself as I loved their
2015 debut album Starquake. I’ve heard rumours and rumblings over
the years that a new album was being prepared but sadly had given up
hope until they dropped this album without any PR or fanfare.
Ascendant
sees Problem With Dragons carry on playing their modern sounding
Sludge/Stoner Metal grooves with a twinge of Distorted vibes running
throughout the album. The band carry on the “lost” style of
Sludge/Stoner Metal that Baroness and Mastodon played back in the day
before moving onto a more commercial style of sound.
Opening
song – The Omicron – feels like a hidden message being played
under a ton of heavy Sludge/Stoner riffage that gives you the perfect
glimpse on what to expect on the album. The overall sound of this
song and album is quite raw but allows Problem With Dragons to play
their own style of music with elements of Punk vibes creeping through
from time to time.
Second
Song – Moon Ritual – has a more focused and jagged sound with the
band focusing more on melody and telling an intruiging story with
this song. The song is quite addictive and has a dark underbelly to
it with some epic and flashy as hell guitar solos that can be quite
demanding to listen to at times. The vocals are insanely good and
show a wealth of creativity when the more “poppier” sounding
vocals appear. It shouldn’t really work but the band deserve credit
for this.
Third
song – The Reptilian Eye – has a true Stoner Metal sound with
flashes of Mastodon style Proggy guitars and vocals on certain parts
of the song. Add a more “fantasy” feel to the lyrics with some
hard hitting vibes and this allows the song to be one of the standout
songs held on the album.
The
opening 3 songs perfectly exemplify how the rest of the album plays
out with the following songs – Comply Or Ignore, The Ascendant,
Implant and Apocalypse Of Baruch being some of the most exciting and
heaviest riffs on the album.
Ascendant
is a deeply engaging and adventurous album with a richly creative
narrative that you wouldn’t expect to hear on an album such as
this. I’m hoping that the band will receive as much positive
recognition they possibly can with this album. As it’s a
brilliantly entertaining and must have album.
Words
by Steve Howe
Ascendant
is available to buy on DD now. Vinyl will be coming later this year
directly from the band.
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