Lost Angeles-based symphonic metal band Ashentide first came across my radar a few weeks ago when the keyboardist, Anastasia Devana, sent me a friend request on Facebook. Usually, I accept friend requests from musicians, especially if we have friends in common, and indeed we had some Sonic Cathedral staff members on both our friends lists. And besides, I've always loved the name Anastasia. Before long, I had a promo copy of Ashentide's self-titled EP and was sitting down listening to it. I have to admit, it was a bit hard to come up with a reasonably-lengthed review because the EP only contains three songs, and so the idea of this little joint venture with Doctor T was born.

The first song on the EP, "Homelands" introduces the listener to the sound of this sextet, fronted by vocalist Lenore Young. Lovely, lush keyboard arrangements combine with tight guitar riffs and Lenore's haunting timbre create an atmospheric experience, with some frequent tempo changes in there to give it all a bit of progressiveness. It's a strong first impression.

"Ondine's Curse" is the second track, and it's quite interesting lyrically because it's based on the story of the German folk legend of Ondine, a wood nymph, who, marrying and having a child with a human makes her mortal, and therefore age. But her husband isn't stoked about her aging whatsoever, so off he goes to have an affair. Ondine catches him sleeping in the arms of his lover and she curses him, dooming him to stop breathing and die if he ever falls asleep again.

Heaven, that illusion of love you crafted for me
While in another’s arms you slumbered in hiding
Since you promised me your every waking breath
With this last curse I will leave you - In sleep, death

Interestingly enough, when researching Ondine's Curse, I discovered that this title is synonymous with the name of a severe form of sleep apnea called Congenital Central Hypoventilation Syndrome (CCHS), where victims, according to Wikipedia, "lose autonomic control of breathing, resulting in the need to consciously initiate every breath. If untreated, patients with CCHS will die―like Ondine's unfaithful spouse―if they fall asleep and can therefore no longer consciously breathe."

Kind of creepy, isn't it? I really liked this song. I liked the story, and I thought this piece had the most symphonic elements in it, lending it a suitable epicness.

The final track is "Purgatory." It's a very dark song, about living in "Death, eternal doom/Wretched darkness, endless gloom." There is a mention of demons and there is even a demonic-like growl in it, performed by Overlord Tom. This is another very atmospheric song, and in this track the guitar work performed by Faust and fellow guitarist, Jelena Kalaeno, stood out to me.

For Ashentide, this is a great introdution to the band. While I don't think their sound is as symphonic as they advertise (there are elements but they are not that prominent), this EP definitely indicates that they have great bones and a bright future. And they are obviously impressing people: they open for Lacuna Coil in LA Tuesday April 10. That is certainly very exciting, and I wish them all the best.

7.5 / 10

Doctor T:

Well, my focus with this review is to go a little beyond the music, which is largely covered in Allyson’s comments above. Much of my information came during a Skype communication with Anastasia Devana and female lead vocalist Lenore Young, a conversation that tested my technological capabilities and found them lacking. But there were some interesting topics covered and they provided some background to the music and the people providing that music.

For the most part, I don’t concentrate much on American music. That’s not to say I don’t like any of it, I keep my Linkin Park and Korn collections current, Bocephus is a regular as required of any current of ex resident of the Confederate States. Beyond that, I try to limit my Lady Gaga, my Jay-Z and any and all references to the Bieber. I do have my standards. But, when you get a symphonic metal with a strong female lead, especially one that approaches the operatic soprano, and does so with lyrics that don’t remind me of a bad soap opera, I’m more than willing to pay attention. And that’s what we get here, it’s a very limited product, only three tracks as we may have mentioned, but the group is young and assures me they are hard at work on additional material. I don’t have a firm date for a full release but I suspect we can look forward to something in the not too distant future.

As was the case with Allyson, my early contact was with keyboard player Anastasia Devana who proves to be more than a little interesting in a lot of ways. She’s from Kirovsk, Russia, a location known to most people with a Ph.D in the geography of Northwestern Russia and probably no one else with the exception of a few polar bears and some seals. I asked her how she got to LA and she said she bought a plane ticket, packed a bag and showed up with $300 bucks in her pocket. Now that takes guts, I wouldn’t show up in LA with less than 50 grand and 20 contacts for the weekend, and I’m from Miami and am relatively fluent in Spanish. So, the fact that she’s a driving force behind the band and their music comes as no surprise. Lenore, on the other hand, strikes me as a more typical representation of the LA music scene, and I say that in the best interpretation of the term. Motivated, check, talented, absolutely, good looking, goes without saying. She does a fair amount of the lyrical development and, to her credit, those lyrics are pretty solid. Not to say that the Ondine’s Curse thing didn’t throw me for a loop. Seems she got the book, the medical book, from an ex boyfriend. Now that’s really questionable sharing procedures, I wouldn’t have considered that with one of my ex-wives, they had bad enough intentions as it was. But, the song provides some interesting ideas, as does Homelands which has a focus on the trials facing returning veterans, a topic near and dear to my heart. Purgatory seems to come closest to the more Gothic lyrical direction, something most Americans are unable to address, or probably understand for that matter.

Musically, I would agree with Allyson on most of her assessment. This is symphonic oriented music; it takes its direction from the traditional European art form that has developed there over the past 30 years or so. Is it as good as the top European sounds, probably not quite yet. But, it’s about as close as you’re going to get with an American band. And, in their defense, this is their first three recordings, that’s generally called an introduction. And, in that sense, it’s pretty damn good, I can certainly listen to it with absolutely no concerns or reservations. Like Allyson, I’d like to hear a little more of Anastasia. The music has all the other parts for me, the vocal, both male and female, strong guitars and drums, and well developed. I’m just one of those who wants a LOT of symphonics in my symphonic metal, and Anastasia certainly has the tools to meet those needs.

In the final analysis, I’m very positive about Ashentide, and very excited to see music like this developing in this country. The band seems to be hooking up with some strong complementary sounds in LA and that’s always a good move. In fact, as I write this, they are opening for Lacuna Coil in LA. They certainly have the talent to provide excellent products, and with the drive and perseverance of someone like Anastasia, it’s hard to imagine them not being successful. And I, for one, am certainly pulling for them, and expect great things in the future.

9 / 10

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