Meltdown (Bonus Dvd) [Limited Edition]

Ash | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 8, 2005)
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Limited Edition
• Label: Record Collection
• ASIN: B0007LXP1I
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #167,740 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Meltdown

2. Orpheus

3. Evil Eye

4. Clones

5. Starcrossed

6. Out Of The Blue

7. Renegade Cavalcade

8. Denonator

9. On A Wave

10. Won't Be Saved

11. Vampire Love

12. Shockwave

13. Solace

14. Cool It Down

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Irish punk-pop vets Ash have vacillated between poles of pop-suffused charm and energetic thrash on their albums since 1989, and this fifth release (the first for LA-based indie Record Collection after the collapse of their original American label delayed its stateside release) finds them fusing the best of those approaches with polish and some success on the lead single "Orpheus" and elsewhere. Recording for the first time in California seems to have imparted a brightness to even poison pen letters like "Evil Eye" and the hard-rocking, if cliched political agit-prop of the title track and the raging condemnation of conformity, "Clones" (also theme song for the Lucas Arts Star Wars video game Republic Commando). The quartet offers up a bonafide, back-to-the-80's head-banger of a power ballad via "Starcrossed" while incorporating new wave-y dynamics in "Renegade Cavalcade." Three exclusive bonus tracks are featured on the American release: the droning "Shockwave," the ballad "Solace" and the blitz-"Cool It Down"'s blitz-pop. This deluxe edition also features a DVD that includes videos for the previous "Girl From Mars" single and the album's "Orpheus" (also the subject of a "making of" clip here), "Clones" and "Starcrossed," as well as an album mini-documentary. --Jerry McCulley

Product Description

Ash's debut full-length, "1977", has SoundScanned 45,000 since its 1996 release. "Free All Angels" followed in 2001 and has sold 47,000 units to date. "Meltdown" has been certified Gold in the UK and is now available domestically. Initial shipments include a bonus limited edition DVD disc with a five videos, a making-of video, and a mini documentary.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Ooo I'm gonna get flamed over this review..., November 10, 2004

By 

Todd Hagley "groucho75" (Decatur, GA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Meltdown (Audio CD)

Received my copy of the latest installment of the Ash saga, Meltdown; after spending a few days with it I thought it time to write a review that reflects what I feel. A disclaimer before I begin: if you cannot accept any criticism of your favorite band whatsoever and believe that every little scrap is infallible genius, go ahead and flame my review and skip on until you reach a 5-star rating you approve of. Me? I call them as I see them and if that means something doesn't sit right, even if I adore the band, well that's why they have ratings from 1 to 5. Even the Beatles made horrible music, so deal with it.

Having said that, Meltdown is a pretty good album by a great band. The hooks are there, the production is pretty clear, and it's a fairly consistent album. The rumors must be true: Rick traded his soul to receive the strength of ten drummers, all of whom must be named Thor, because the drums sound great.

Ready to flame me? Here's the major problem I have with Meltdown (and indeed, a lot of Ash's output since 1977); weak songwriting. Tim Wheeler has yet to find a vocal range he's really comfortable with to write tunes worthy of their power. In a concert setting, that's not really an issue, but on record it can really affect how you enjoy the music. He has a delicate voice, but he can push it effectively. Listen to "Live at the Wireless" for proof of that. A lot of Meltdown suffers from vocals that sound too strained, too tinny, or too far away from the microphone to deliver the emotional punch the songs require. And let's be frank, Charlotte's vocals are great, but they don't have to appear on every song. If you only write songs with a wah pedal, after a while, you forget why adding it makes it special. Wait, maybe that's not the best analogy...

Also, and I hate to say it, but the band needs to hide Tim's rhyming dictionary because it's getting a bit stale. You're 27 Tim, but Clones sounds like it was written by a 13 year old Slipknot fan living in Croydon who complains that no-one cherishes how sensitive they are for writing such "heavy" lyrics.

In spite of the above, Meltdown is a good album that displays their able strengths and charts some interesting developments as a unit. I can't say I'm completely over the moon about every track, but that's the case with a lot of my favorite bands. I'm not saying I can write better tunes (hell, who doesn't want to be in this band) nor am I saying that Ash isn't great. It's just really tough to write good albums that challenge listener's perceptions while keeping the fan base happy. You know it, I know it, REM knows it, Oasis knows it, and Ash knows it. I don't envy having the pressure to follow up an album as tight as Free All Angels, so they're to be applauded for what they've done. But if they can loosen up a little bit and nail their songwriting, they'll be unstoppable.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Here Just in Time to Be Criminally Ignored, March 10, 2005

By 

drew m (maryland United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Meltdown (Bonus Dvd) (Audio CD)

Meltdown was supposed to be released here in the US months and months ago. But Ash's record label went into bankruptcy just as it was about to drop, and so the record never saw the light of day until now.

It was only a couple of years ago during the release of Free All Angels that Ash were being touted as candidates for breakout US success, but that time has come and gone. Meltdown isn't anywhere near as pop-friendly as that record. In fact, it's a metal record. And one of the better metal records of the past few years.

And when I say "metal," I'm not talking about six-minute dirges sung by 17 year-olds trying to sound like 52-year-olds. If you're looking for that, go by a Slipknot album and bang your head against a desk. For those of us that grew up in the 80's, the magical decade that provides VH1 its only source of revenue, standard metal revolved around riffage, riffage, and more riffage. And so it is with Meltdown, an 11-song battering ram of chunky guitar goodness. The riffs on "Clones" and the title track can pretty much lay waste to any set of eardrums, while "Evil Eye" and "Vampire Love" bring back 80's style goth (think Ozzy's Bark at the Moon), which was always wayyyyy more fun than 90's style goth (think being forced to take a poetry class at RISD).

But the centerpiece of Meltdown remains "Orpheus", a song that masterfully blends Ash's pop knowhow with their thunderous guitar attack. The bridge alone has a Chill Factor of about 12. It was by far the best song of 2004, and now it's available to you without the hefty import price tag. Lucky you.

With Meltdown, Ash continue their streak as one of Briitain's most versatile and hard-rocking outfits. They may never reach soaring heights here in the US. But they remain a hidden rock treasure for anyone willing to look hard enough. At least now you can look for Meltdown without crossing the Atlantic.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 3 Years Used Wisely, June 2, 2004

By 

M. Rowden (Essex) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Meltdown (Audio CD)

Since the release of the career-saving monster of an album 'Free All Angels' back in 2001, fans of the British quartet Ash have witnessed a distinct lack of new material; 2002's 'Intergalactic Sonic 7"s Singles Collection' featuring Envy, the only new track in approximately 2 and a half years. But now the boys (and the token beautiful lady) are back in town with their most sumptuous, brash and satisfying release to date...Prepare for Meltdown, folks.

The title track kick-starts the record with an unashamedly loud and rousing call to battle; an anthem against the injustices of society and authority rife with metal-edged heavy guitar riffs, yet Tim's vocals, practically the same as they were back on FAA, retain their prominence amidst the sea of lush heaviness. But if 'Meltdown', as a track, reassured fans that normal, high Ash-standards had been maintained, it is the album's second standout track that exceeds them. 'Orpheus', debuting in the UK charts at just number 13, sounds like the lovechild of 'Burn Baby Burn' and 'Girl from Mars'; a truly glorious thing to behold, the lyrical desperation of the former and the summery feel-good factor of the latter. 'Evil Eye' follows, mocking the flirtatious and provocative side of love, before it's toned-down, laid-back accesibility erupts into 'Clones', the band's heaviest piece of work to date. Whilst Wheeler's vocals don't sound quite dramatic enough throughout, praise is due for both the man's harrowing end-of-bridge yell (which is easily mistaken for a riff!) and Mark's often overlooked excellent Bass playing; he really shines through on 'Clones'. 'Starcrossed' breaks the momentum somewhat, recalling the romantic sensitivity and hard-up elegance of Shining Light whilst not quite breaching the artistic boundaries of it's predecessor (always will my love be there/and never be away). 'Out of the Blue' flaunts catchy hooks with a typically sugary Ash chorus, and the nostalgia of 'Oh Yeah' is reborn in 'Renegade Cavalcade'; this time around with vocal softness and a thin-on-the-ground verse pattern building up to a tumultous chorus that sounds fantastic live and creates a passion in the crowd only rivalled by set-closer 'Burn Baby Burn'. Detonator, another track primarily designed to sound good live, recalls the same build-up in the chorus, compensating sing-along lyrics for sinister sounding instrumentation and is Drummer Rick McMurray's finest performance to date. 'On a Wave', what Tim refers to as a song about 'the apocalypse and surfing' repeats the same pattern of repeating the chorus to maximum effect as 'Out of the Blue', its lack of repeated listening value saved by an inspired bridge. Despite a minor number of flaws, the album ends on two exceptionally high notes: 'Won't be Saved' featuring Charlotte Hatherley's backing vocals in divine form against a loveable, similarly loud/soft pattern as 'Renegade Cavalcade' and album closer 'Vampire Love' with its fascinatingly illustrative lyrics and guitar-work working in complete harmony to present an Ash song that sounds vivaciously danceable.

What now lies ahead of the band SHOULD be worldwide recognition of their astounding progression from three kids writing about sci-fi books and Hulk Hogan Bubblebath on Trailer to a band critically acclaimed for their ability to stick to their end goal whilst tipping their hat to whatever music may be in or out of fashion; Ash's decade in rock may have gone unnoticed by the media, but they'll always keep churning out great songs for the faithful, regardless. Isn't that what rock's supposed to be about?