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Epic Northwestern (don’t say the c-word!) black metal crew Ash Borer have returned with a new song. The four-piece crew from Northern California’s new track, “Oblivion’s Spring”, is culled from the band’s forthcoming 12″ Bloodlands due in April via Gilead Media. Opening with an eerie reverb-soaked clean guitar passage, “Oblivion’s Spring” dabbles in doomy riffing in addition to the blasting that marked their 2012 release for Profound Lore, Cold of Ages. Recommended, and streaming in all of its epic glory below.
Ash Borer will embark on a tour with Fell Voices in the coming months, hitting the EU for the bulk of April. All tour dates and that stream is below.
ASH BORER / FELL VOICES – 2013 TOUR DATES
03/26/13 Portland, OR Ash St. Speakeasy United States*
03/27/13 Seattle, WA The Black Lodge United States*
03/29/13 Reykajavik Gamli Gaurkurinn AKA The Old Parrot Iceland
04/02/13 Helsinki Klub PRKL Finland
04/03/13 Copenhagen Loppen Denmark
04/04/13 Stockholm The Liffey/Pussy A-Go-Go Sweden
04/05/13 Oslo Klubbscenen Norway
04/06/13 Gothenburg Truckstop Alaska Sweden
04/07/13 Aalborg 1000Fryd Denmark
04/08/13 Hamburg Hafenklang Germany
04/09/13 Berlin Cassiopeia Germany
04/10/13 Leipzig Zoro Germany
04/11/13 Dresden AZ Conni Germany
04/12/13 Prague 007 Club Czech Republic
04/13/13 Vienna Arena Austria
04/14/13 Ljubljana Menza Pri Koritu (Metalkova) Slovenia
04/15/13 Milano Blue Rose Saloon Italy
04/16/13 Geneva La Graviere Switzerland
04/17/13 Paris TBA France
04/18/13 Karsruhe Alte Hackerei Germany
04/19/13 Brussels AB Club Belgium
04/20/13 Tilburg Roadburn Festival 2013 Netherlands
04/21/13 Utrecht DB Netherlands
04/22/13 Amsterdam Occii Netherlands
* no Fell Voices
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Can someone explain this band’s appeal to me? What are we getting from these guys that we haven’t already gotten several times over from Weakling and WITTR?
I’d argue they’re a bit closer to Altar of Plagues than either of those. Their music never really gets majestic or beautiful, it’s always a little unhinged and ugly, and I think they’re doing something interesting with keyboards. Also a big fan of how their songs can turn on a dime from meandering, drone-y passages to vicious Second Wave Norway riffs without any warning. I dunno, I think they’re killing it and always welcome new material. This song rules.
I dunno dude, the bulk of Dead as Dreams is pretty dissonant, and WITTR has used keyboards in much the same way that Ash Borer does. I’d buy the AoP comparison for Ash Borer they had a more charismatic vocal presence (a major weak point for them, IMO) or a rhythm section that could pull off doom parts more convincingly.
So now we’ve added a third band to the list of very similar bands that I’d prefer to listen to!
I’m always curious of people who fixate on this type of idea…do you also wonder the same thing about Celtic Frost or Darkthrone, because there are way more clones of those bands (hell entire label rosters really!) than the 5 or 6 so-called “Cascadian” black metal bands who somewhat derive their sound from Weakling?!?!
I’d also posit that with the glacial pace and song length and structure, the differences might be a little more subtle to the casual listener…like a lot of doom and Neurosis clones, none of them really sound “exactly” the same, unless one doesn’t particularly care for the style or subgenre.
Well, few Celtic Frost and Darkthrone clones get hyped as “the most exciting act in black metal,” “America’s best young black metal band,” and so forth. I get why someone might enjoy Ash Borer—they play an established style reasonably well. I don’t understand, however, why people think they’re worthy of the superlatives they’re receiving.
And seriously, if I’m missing something about them that makes them really distinctive, I’d love to hear about it.
For me, their appeal lies in their melodic passages. I agree that they operate in a similar realm as WITTR, but to my ears they’re doing so much more with it. I never really felt WITTR’s songs grabbed me—not enough memorable riffs. But Ash Borer has at least one or two riffs in every song that just grab me by the throat.
All subjective (obviously), I just feel like they do it better than anyone else.
I’ve always felt the same way about them. It’s…fine. Good, even. But not great, and not treading any new ground or setting any new bars. And yet the endless gushing…
New song is pretty awesome. Nothing life changing, but a quality song nonetheless.
Ash Borer has always felt more feral and violent than Wolves ever did. Their self-titled sounds nothing like WiTTR and even though Cold of Ages has a few moments that hint at Wolves, there’s always something that takes it in a completely different, harsher direction.
This song is kind of boring. Maybe when listened to with the other track(s) it’ll sound better, but I worry that Ash Borer is becoming too formulaic (long, noodly opening with ambient washes breaking into furious black metal, slow down half way thru, speed up and end with ambience). They’re still one of the best US black metal bands around, but this seems like a misstep in an otherwise sterling catalog.
“(…) but I worry that Ash Borer is becoming too formulaic”
Me too! The s/t is really great, but “Cold of Ages” already has got some of those “same old, same old” kind of moments. This band really seem to be a onetrick pony.