Azshara – Ashen Skies

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7.0

• Band:
  Azshara
• Duration: 00:15:00
• Available from: 21/03/2025
• Label:

• Daze Style

Streaming not yet available

After a demo released a couple of years ago, the Azshara, a young US formation from Syracuse, NY, make their definitive entry on the scene with “Ashen Skies”, the first official EP with which the group engages in a passionate tribute to the metalcore of the early 2000s, taking up specific styles of that period with a dedication that transpires from each note.
The quintet takes inspiration especially from those American bands strongly influenced by the Swedish Melodic Death Death Sound Nineties: we think, for example, of what was made by formations such as Undying or AS Hope Dies in their first years of career, when the US metalcore movement had to be dragged in the reflectors of the mainstream by very lucky reality such as As I Lay Dying, Bleeding Through or Unearth.
The group's approach is therefore distinguished by a tight and sharp riffing, in which the melody never translates into blatantly catchy solutions, but in a continuous succession of tense and arrembling guitar phrases. The melodic component, therefore, is present, but set in a structure that favors intensity and dynamism, without ever expiring in too accessible or more airy Maidenian solutions. To strengthen the overall impact of the work we find, as expected, Breakdown fats and Mosh sections: from the first listening, these elements denote a certain importance in the sound economy, however they are not intrusive in their being used above all to maximize the overall impact, without weighing too much weighted the flow of tracks.
Among the five songs in the EP, “Soulbound” emerges as the highest point of work: the piece stands out for a good balance between charge and passion, with an evocative ending that suggests the band's potential in building more articulated and suggestive compositions. Here the Azshara show that they have not only the technique, but also the ability to write music that can leave a sign on an emotional level.
Overall, “Ashen Skies” proves to be a convincing job, which presents us with a band with clear ideas and a solid knowledge of one's influences. No flicker of originality, of course, but still so much commitment to re -proposing the sound of a certain vein with authenticity, transmitting a palpable enthusiasm that makes listening to the EP a enjoyable experience. If the boys manage to further develop their style and to go, at least at times, beyond the boundaries of their reference models, the future could reserve them satisfactions.