"Underground Essentials"
In this section I shall be showcasing some of my personal favourite Underground Metal bands, that are either underplayed, underrated, or just a band that I feel will benefit from my efforts, that thoroughly deserve being thrown in your face.
If a band is in this section, I think that they are amazing, so I shall not be giving the bands marks out of 10 or anything like that, and I shall try and keep my personal opinions to a minimum.
But I will give you everything you need to know, to give you the opportunity, to fall in love with these bands as I have!
Ancient Ascendant formed in 2005 in Reading, UK. Since then, the band has been developing their unique sound and gigging across the country. They self released their debut EP “The Heathen Throne” at the end of 2008 and have received awesome reviews from many within the UK Metal News and promotion industry.
I first came across these guys in 2008, at Finnstock Festival in Weymouth. Until this point I had never heard of the guys, and from that point on I would never forget them. Here's what I had to say about them back then....
"Modern Progressive death metal, and I should have written more notes for these guys, but I was too busy enjoying their set, and then got so drunk over the course of the night that a full review is a little difficult. But like I said, it's their own fault for being so good. Very clever, and very tight, I'd say a fight between Zyklon & Death, with opeth as the referee is a fair description. Anyone reading this that hasn't heard Ancient Ascendant! Do it now! you be glad you checked em out I assure you"
....and to this day I still agree, and after obtaining a copy of "The Heathen Throne" recently I had to take the opportunity to shove these guys in your face once again!
When you get it don't let it leave your CD player for a while, and stick it on repeat as you will love this the more you listen to it, and notice something new you hadn't noticed the previous time as the tracks repeat! It has so much depth, and is appealing for so many different reasons. The potential fan spectrum for a band like this is limitless.
The biggest influences I would say are Opeth & Bloodbath. I personally prefer Ancient Ascendant to either band, but if you where to draw a line and put Opeth at one end and Bloodbath at the other then AA would fall smack bang in the middle of the two for me. At this point I dare say fans of Mikael Akerfelt are already rushing through this so they can check out AA asap, but I'll also say that if you like Carcass, Vader, Death, Vital Remains or Zyklon, then you should also make sure that AA's Myspace site (attached below) is the next thing on your agenda after reading this! Thank you for reading and I shall leave you with some of AA's best reviews, and the links to all the AA sites you could need! P.S Watch this space! New album in progress and coming soon!
Reviews!
"...Sparking memories of early In Flames one minute, Entombed and Dismember the next…
The gloriously murky graveyard scene on the cover is as evocative and professional as the impeccable song writing, all of which commands you bow your head in reverence to the future of English death metal..."
- 5.5/6 Zero Tolerance Magazine
"...A debut laden with promise and invention, The Heathen Throne takes in skull rattling dark thrash, pummelling mid-paced doom and even some jagged, staccato grooves that reek of the early 90s... a very British sounding slab of dark metal that points towards a very bright and fruitful future for all concerned"
- Metal Hammer
"...I was shocked at the ability and pure genius of this band..."
"...With the heavyness of a metal band they have also shown that the beauty of melody can go along side a brutal genre of music, but in a bigger and better way than anyone has ever tried before..."
- Ragebreed Reviews
Links!
www.ancientascendant.com
Myspace Page
Facebook Page
UKMU Forum
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