Baring their debut, ASHBORN, has just released the long anticipated "Awakening." A melding of Death and Thrash Metal-alongside a few other subtle influences-an amalgamation of heavy and fast, though melody is a large focus as well.

The album opens up with the aptly named, "Mute," a soft and withdrawn piano medley which will eternally remind me of Silent Hill's "Promise" though whether or not that was the band's intention will remain a mystery; the song segues perfectly into the next track, "Monsters," which works itself as a better introduction for the band's sound. The change of pace just before the first verse draws the listener to focus in, the song then follows a pattern of slowing and speeding up with a clean break near the end. "If The Walls Could Speak" is perhaps my favorite track on the album consisting of strings riddled with fuzz, relentless drums, paced out accents, and a mesmerizing refrain. The albums titular track "Awakening From The Death" consists of a heavy introduction which fades into a slowed verse sung over a pounding groove before returning to a Heavy sound for the chorus. The ending song, "When Darkness Comes" is centered upon a rhythmic approach to cacophony as it indulges in staccato chords that couple pure noise, harmonics that interlace every verse, and a refrain that completely changes the course of the song.

The album was beautifully mastered and recorded such that each instrument lays in perfect unison with one another. The drums are loud and pounding yet don't resound in such manner as to iterate that they've been over-compressed which I have long felt is a weakness for the genre-that is to say that each strike of the tom, snare, and kick sound as natural as if they have been are being breathed straight into each listening. The guitars are crunch, thick, and voluminous consisting of deep driven fuller tones rather than the more commonly used thin mid-swept recipe; by virtue of their pursuits they have crafted themselves an absurd heavy-laden album wherein each instrument is voiced in panic, rage, and precision. The bass is a thickened unending torrent colored in by richness and sharpness which aids directly in standing out from the strings, yet never does it commit to the sound to such an extent that it separates completely from the mix, rather that it dances around audible and silent whilst never ceasing in providing the essential backbone for the entire soundscape. The vocals are some of the sharpest I've ever heard somehow dissevering itself from getting lost in the mix by cutting through each instrument yet still being centered around screams.

"Awakening" is itself an interesting addition to the genre and a great debut for the band, unfortunately it does little to carve itself a notch above others in the grander scheme, but it portrays and showcases the aptitude of the band both in performance and composition. For anyone with a penchant towards Loud or Heavy then ASHBORN is a welcome addition to such a playlist.