Monday 18 March 2024

Ash Eater - Breathe The Smoke (Album Review)

Release Date: March 15th 2024. Record Label: Self Released. Formats: DD

Breathe The Smoke - Tracklisting

1.Earth Must Be Fed 02:12

2.The Siren's Call 03:20

3.Any Port In A Storm 05:00

4.Ritual 07:04

5.Grab The Strands//Take The Light\\Breathe The Smoke 08:06

6.The Warrior's Craze 07:48


Members


Kenny Coombs - Bass/Vocals

Andrew Pugh - Guitar

Alden Elias - Drums


Review


Breathe The Smoke is the second full length album from Doom/Thrash/Stoner Metallers Ash Eater and sees the band return four years after releasing their 2020 debut album. Ash Eater plays a mixture of Thrashed Out Doom/Stoner Metal with comparisons to High On Fire, Motorhead and early era Lord Dying. The band bring a seedy and dirge ridden style of Psychedelic Rock to the album with an aggressive fast-paced sound hat oozes 1980’s Classic Thrash Metal Attitude with a killer Speed Metal flow that works amazingly well with their modern day Psych Stoner Metal approach.


The sound can also be quite progressive on the flashier and trippy moments of the album with Ash Eater having a thrilling creative attitude that matches the more outlandish guitar solos played throughout the album. The production values are handled superbly well with Ash Eater opting for a contemporary and classic sound for Breathe The Smoke with perhaps the Doom Metal aspects offering the vocals to have a more distant vibe to the more “in your face” style of the instrumental passages.


Standout tracks include Any Port In A Storm, Ritual and Grab The Strands//Take The Light\\Breathe The Smoke where Ash Eater changes the sound to a slower change of pace but with DEMONIC persona coming from Kenny’s vocals fully taking over. However, the whole sound of the record starts to experiment with more of that 1980’s Hard Rock/Heavy Metal energy where the instrumental solos become flashier and perhaps a bit more OTT that you don’t initially expect. The whole tone is still full of vibrant promise with the sludgy guitars being quite melodic despite the abrasive nature of Ash Eater’s music.


Breathe The Smoke is a gloriously entertaining and bombastic record with a non-stop delivery of intense Heavy Metal guitar sounds that has an superb Doom/Stoner Metal energy that will keep the underground masses happy from start to finish.


Words by Steve Howe


Thanks to Good Boy PR for the promo.


Links


Facebook | BandCamp | Instagram