What would happen if a Premier League footballer formed a metal band? Would he make a balls up of it, or would the band turn out to be surprisingly good? Perhaps they’d do okay until he beds a few prostitutes… Oh sorry, this is Ash And Coal, not Ashley Cole; the two sound remarkably similar when said out loud especially when you’re a bit bunged up due to whatever seasonal bug I’ve been suffering from. Anyway, there’s little to be found on this band apart from numerous news articles about coal ash landfills and disposal and that kind of thing plus the lyrics to Marduk’s ‘Perish In Flames,’ the MySpace is about as informative as The Daily Star’s political section and well, they appear virtually unknown. It’s always a pleasure when you find an album like this, with no label backing and that you can have no expectations of whatsoever, and end up really getting into.
This is a very understated little album; simple black and white photograph cover and when I put it on the stereo for the first time it has to be said that it didn’t blow me away but I could tell there was something there. It’s on repeated listens that I really felt it working its magic and I found myself drawn into the music more and more on each spin. Things get off to a strong start with ‘the Lure Of The Anti-Christ’ which has a really fierce rhythm to it and does a great job of luring me in, especially as this falls into a really melodic chorus filled with atmosphere and the guitar solos add a solitary air to things. There’s something very bleak about their sound in places, a kind of unsettling void beneath the frosted riffing, while at times it is intensely beautiful. ‘Clever Pain’ almost has a post-punk mood to it; it’s dark and reflective and the bass incredibly warm and booms up from below. I love the slow, prowling rhythm here especially as the jangling, screeching guitars begin to slice into the main section as it breezes along. Vocals project a great deal of emotion and pain; every word is clear which makes this very accessible, although there’s a kind of gravely raspy bite to the delivery.
The moody and haunting bass-heavy sounds at times have me thinking of Automatic era R.E.M. – some of the numbers are incredibly reflective; ‘White Room’ especially just has a bassline that vaguely reminds me of ‘Drive,’ while the guitar work is highly emotive and slinks along with an air of sophistication. ‘Dyalogus Mano Siniatra’ is another that is beautifully mellow, dark and unassuming; it’s the kind of track you want to give your full attention and the blend of clean, calm vocals on the verse with more anguished chorus sounds excellent. ‘Bad Moon Rise’ really ups the ante with some callous blackened guitars and a belter of a chorus. Tracks like this and ‘Of Mire And Filth’ have a hint of Enslaved about them particularly in the guitars which have an icy swagger to them. The latter track has a rather creepy atmosphere; the bass really sounds thick and imposing while everything prowls along creating a real sense of foreboding.
There isn’t a weak track on this album; certainly the mixture of fiercer blackened numbers and mellower tracks gives it a much needed bit of variety, but it is all done with such effortlessness and class that I really can’t believe this is the bands debut album. It oozes sophistication and confidence and it’s not impossible that this could be a last minute addition to my top 20 albums list of 2010. Excellent stuff!
http://www.myspace.com/ashandcoal
