Release Date: March 06th 2025. Record Label: Self Released. Formats: DD
Castaway - Track Listing:
1.Castaway
2.Embracing
3.Shine
4.Constellation
5.Of beloved flame
Members
Pepper Glass: guitar/vocals
Mike DiTullio: drums/percussion
Ben Dodds: bass
Review
Castaway is the second full length album from Doom/Sludge Metallers Harvest Of Ash and is quite a therapeutic album where you feel at rock bottom and have no way to turn to which I’ve personally been to recently. It’s not a nice place to be at and the world can be quite a cold hearted place to survive in but the power of music can be a real lifeline to help with that feeling and Castaway is one of those records that’s helped me a great deal recently.
Maybe I’m being a bit too personal there but Castaway helped me a lot recently with its bleak delivery of heavy sludgy grooves and uplifting passages that appear at the right moment in time. Taking cues from bands such as Neurosis, ISIS, Mastodon and Cult Of Luna but with Harvest Of Ash operating with a more Crust Punk/Metal attitude which allows their music to have a more aggressive and volatile sound. The harsh growls from lead vocalist Pepper Glass are superbly understated and quite easy to understand especially with the down tuned and violent Post-Metal imagery the band create on the excellent opening track of Castaway which solidifies Harvest Of Ash as a force of nature to be reckoned with.
The lyrics are deeply meaningful to the band and it was quite easy for myself to forge an emotional connection to this record especially earlier this year when I was going through a hard time in my life. (Apologies once again for admitting my real life struggles into the review but it did ultimately help along with a couple other albums which I’ll write about later). The sense of loneliness can be felt within the downbeat and nihilistic sounds of the early stages of the record within the standout tracks of Castaway, Embracing and Shine.
Harvest Of Ash create complex Post-Metal and Atmospheric Sludge melodies which they splice with bursts of uplifting Post-Doom and Post-Rock movements especially within Embracing and Shine. This shows a different and caring side to Harvest Of Ash which you may not fully see or embrace when first listening to the album.
The final part of the album sees Harvest Of Ash building upon their harsh Sludge/Post-Metal sound with subtle flashes of Prog Metal heaviness that moves into that Post-Rock and Post-Doom dimensions once again on the final two tracks of Constellation and Of Beloved Flame. The lyrics are perhaps more emotionally charged and leave you in a much better place than you initially expect especially compared to the beginning of the album.
You can tell I made a deep emotional connection to this record and I thank Harvest Of Ash for that. The record may not be for everyone but I loved the blunt honesty and heavy as hell grooves that the band brought to the table for Castaway. This is a record that I’ll be listening to for a long time to come and why I’ll consider this album as one of the albums of the year before 2025 is fully out.
Words by Steve Howe
Thanks to Desert Bloom PR for the promo.
Castaway will be available to buy digitally from Friday 06th March 2025.
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