Customer Reviews

As Heaven Turns to Ash

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Bludgeoning Doom...Crushing Subsonic Bass with Obscenely Overdriven Guitar --these words are paraphrased from the Band's website. I normally wouldn't even consider starting out a review with pre-release propaganda from a band or label's website, but, y'know what? These guys may actually be one of the relatively few metal bands who can back up their cocky claims of supremacy.

As someone who's been loving metal since the seventies, I've never been more puzzled by a retro movement that this latest "stoner/doom metal" craze. First of all, I bet Ozzy, Tony, Geezer, and Bill, themselves, are shrugging at how revered their sludgy, bass heavy, sound has become thirty years later; and, secondly, much of this latest wave of "doomania" doesn't really sound much like the music it's trying to emulate anyway, with tempos way slower than vintage Sabbath, and growled, death metal vocals (such as those of Bongzilla and Burning Witch), which are far removed from Ozzy's menacing wail.

All of the above said, when it's as good as the new Warhorse does it here, who cares about authenticity? These guys have been around since the mid-nineties, already having undergone "Spinal Tap-esque" personnel changes, but just in time for the REAL new millenium they have exploded on to the scene like a depth charge with their first full length album. This power trio makes no promises of early 'seventies authenticity, referring instead to this dose of dusk-'til-dawn doomy dirges as being like "death metal on quaaludes." First of all, yes, the vocals are gruff, but they are effectively recessed into the thick smoke of guitar fuzz; and the inananely stoned out lyrics are sparse, so that the album feels more instrumental than anything else. Secondly, the quiet "flowers and beads" interludes are mostly acoustic, quite effective, and authentic-sounding (not the electronic, almost ambient stuff, that many retro albums try to pass off as "spacey psych." music) with an eastern flavor, that feels like walking through a heavy haze of incense into a c.1970 drug den with beads hanging in the doorway. Then, of course, these 2-4 minute "soothing, trance-inducing interludes," as the official Warhorse website's album description calls them, are rudely offset by 8-10 minute viciously viscous tar pit death marches, with classic titles like "Lysergic Communion." If anyone's wondering about the sound quality (although that's usually not a primary concern with albums like this), it has amazing transparency and dynamic range, for such a dense, distorted, and "maxed out" recording.

If you have any interest at all in ULTRA heavy, over-the-top, subterranean sounds, and you like to hear it extra low and slow, at least once in awhile (like Saint Vitus; Electric Wizard; Cathedral's, Forest of Equilibrium; Earth 2; or Type O Negative's, World Coming Down), and you don't like or need a bunch of synth/keyboards in your metal, you probably NEED to have this album. I normally can't stand reviews that make claims like this, but...I have to wonder, at least: is this the doom metal album to end all doom metal albums?

If stoned zombies played pissed off death metal, it would most likely resemble the formidable tar pit rock of Warhorse. Stumbling inebriates attempting to walk the line between doom metal and pot rock have forever blurred the distinction between the genres with each accidentally inspired step, and it's in their still fresh path that Warhorse prepare for battle. With who seems to be a moot point. These boys are just looking for a fight. "As Heaven Turns To Ash" appears to be burning on a colossal roundup of the world's remaining fossil fuels, belching fire and spitting acid from the depths of a brimming smokestack. The semi-acoustic interludes "Amber Vial" and "Dawn" by comparison can only be mourning the fact that current technology does not allow the band to get any heavier. So fill the bong one last time and raise a toast to Armageddon.

I bought this simply from a recommendation that it was similar to Electric Wizard, and also because of the sticker on the front that said "Heaviest debut of the Millenium". That is definately true. While the music is akin to Electric Wizard more that any other band, I have to say that the album sounds much less rough, much more polished than any of the Electric Wizard albums. Also they break up the lengthy, doomy vocal tracks with surprising and almost beautiful musical interludes. An impressive mix of great musicianship and super-heavy riffs. One of the best albums in the genre I've ever purchased, and definately the heaviest.

Last week, I was browsing at my local music store for something to spend a store credit on. I went in looking for an album by any one of three bands (Amorphis, Lair of the Minotaur, Wolves in the Throne Room) and found nothing. On my way out, I found this CD, under the wrong artist, with "USED" stickers covering the name of the band. I had never heard of Warhorse before, but my doubts were erased when I looked at the spine at saw 2 very important words in my decision to buy it: "Southern Lord".

To put it simply, Southern Lord is amazing. Not many seem to know it, but for such a small label, they have quite a collection of quality bands on their label. So, immediately interested but not knowing what to expect, I bought "As Heaven Turns To Ash...". The verdict? It was a good decision.

Warhorse was (unfortunately, they see to have disbanded around 2002) easily comparable to an American version of Electric Wizard. They combine crushingly heavy, slow riffs with "tunnely"/"spacey" vocals.

Warhorse takes this proven formula and does it well. Also added in are acoustic passages and several instrumentals.

There's not much else that can be said of "As Heaven Turns to Ash...". If you like doom metal, buy it. If you've never heard it, try it. If you don't like it, try it anyway. It may be your gateway to better music.

Scoring (Pros):
+Proven formula
+Executed well
+At over 50 minutes long, there is plenty to listen to (doesn't end too quickly)

Scoring (Cons):
-Been done before
-For some, tracks may be too lengthy

Most of the reviews posted cover the basics of how I feel about this band/album. To surmise: crushing, fantastic, technical, and utterly unforgetable.

My personal favorite is Scrape. The lyrics are simple but ingenius. The riffs are titanic. The middle has this mellow bluesy interlude and then right at minute nine it comes in with the heavy riffs and this pale-toned stoney laid back flaring solo that is amazing.

Simply an album any fan of the stoner rock/doom genre can not be without.

Okay, nobody is going to be reading this by accident. Warhorse are on Southern Lord records, so they are, of course, extremely heavy. Stupendously heavy.

"As Heaven Turns to Ash ..." is (within its genre) a truly fine album. The production is suprisingly crisp. The sound is fairly uniform, as is usually the case with doom and stoner bands, but the production here lets the smaller variations in guitar tone and vocal inflection stand out.

The easy comparison is to Electric Wizard, but this stomps all over EW's best. Short, quiet instrumental breaks pop up throughout the album to let you catch your breath. The "real" songs are long, often droning, but full of complex dynamics. The guitar solos (and there are some, which is not usual for this kind of stuff) are quite smart and effective, not just "watch me" wankery. The vocals come awful close to the death metal "I gargle battery acid for breakfast" impenetrability, but pull up just short. Listen close and you can probably make out most of it. The CD booklet actually contains all the lyrics, if you are feeling lazy.

Extra cudos for those lyrics! Cryptic and impressionistic, using the usual "heavy" types of subject matter, but avoiding Sabbathian retread type cliches.

These guys belong in the same category as a band like Opeth, making complex rewarding music within a genre often dismissed as boring and uniform. Very 'eavy, no reason to be 'umble at all.

Monolithic,powerful, and introspective. This work of art is deserving of the highest praise. WARHORSE are as visionary as Hendrix, Black Sabbath, or any kind of music that farther extends beyond the relms of reason or sanity......

This is just absolutely fantastic.

If you like Electric Wizard (but don't really like the singer), Iron Monkey or even Eyehategod (but don't really like the singer either), you're bound to love this. Intense & groovy (stoner) Doom - great sound quality - heavy like ac is crazy. Very hard to get. I found it for $15 on the internet. Muhaha

Let's get high. Let's get together and jam. *light bulb comes on* Let's record it, too! And let's make it f***ing HEAVY! Let's turn people's heads when we grind out these guitars!

I believe Warhorse's thought process may have gone something like that prior to this release. The vocals are growly and muffled by the guitars, which is a good thing (not because the vocals are dislikable, but because the guitars are just so damn LIKABLE). I hear art here too. These guys are musicians (of a bluesy variety as a couple others have said). The instrumental tracks are excellent to chill to.

This isn't funeral doom. There's no death here. You are just doomed. And there's nothing you can do about it... except listen to really heavy music.

...

As a side note, if you DO crave some funeral doom, I highly recommend Evoken - Quietus.