The Ember, The Ash – Fixation
Release Date: 14th May 2021
Label: Prosthetic Records
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Genre: Blackened Metalcore, Symphonic Black Metal.
FFO: Dimmu Borgir, Emperor, Meshuggah, Darknet, Unreqvited, Ellende, Ne Obliviscaris.
Review By: Ryan Shearer
I love a good mystery. Much like bands such as Ghost, GOD & Sleep Token, The Ember, The Ash is a project by an unknown individual. Described as a musical polymath by label Prosthetic Records, 鬼 has written Fixation to address topics such as suicidal ideation and spiralling thoughts. The album has been written to feel as unsettling and violent as the mind of the subject and it succeeds excellently. Fixation is brutal, erratic and enjoyable as hell.
Opener Strychnine is a wretched audio hellscape, with evil sounding effects layered before distorted feedback shoots in like a slug from a shotgun. It is heavy but takes a while to get up to running pace. The riffs after the clean section in Fixation are at breakneck speed. 鬼 is taking no prisoners.
Surprising for such a heavy band, the sections between the raw pummelling aggression are beautiful. The 7 tracks feel incredibly intertwined and play around with a wide range of styles. The first melodic break in Becoming The Eidolon is pleasant and progressive, sounding like a theme to a concept album. The slightly distressing acoustic melody in the middle of A Growing Emptiness followed by a blast beat and gutturals is a great example of when opposing moods help highlight each other’s value.
The strings over the lightning-fast double bass section in the middle of Celestial Fracture is as symphonic metal as it comes. Album closer Consciousness Torn from the Void elevates the momentum of the album and dials it up. It builds from ambience into two-and-a-half minutes of blast beats and symphonic embellishment; it’s an emotionally satisfying closing track.
Fixation is mixed well, and the guitar tones are slathered in gain. The album sounds unclean which makes it sound all the filthier. The electronic drum effects in Strychnine & Fixation coupled with the super-gated riffs in A Growing Emptiness add some modern stylings – they don’t feel misplaced, it’s just evidence of The Ember, The Ash kicking down the doors of genre expectations.
Fixation will lock you in, strap you down and make you its bitch. The ambience throughout forming a constant bedrock covered in thick, angry riffs will make you want to stick around. It’s a wildly interesting album with an impressive number of tones and styles. Fixation was definitely meant to be enjoyed fully – the tracks need each other to give context to the chaos to maximise the experience. The Dimmu Borgir-esque orchestral parts feel hugely grandiose, and the nu-metal electronics are crazy fun. You’ll be fixated on this album after it’s got its demonic talons into you, so sit back and enjoy.
(4 / 5)
