ASHENT were formed in 2002 in Italy. After releasing a demo in 2003, their debut full-length, Flaws Of Elation arrived on the scene. Deconstructive is their second release, and shows the band gaining in maturity and evolving in a positive direction.

The sound of this album is generally progressive Metal, although there are also smaller influences from Power Metal and classic Metal; one can even hear a slight thrash and Goth influence in their sound. Even though ASHENT is from Italy, they thankfully avoid the over-the-top cheesiness of bands like RHAPSODY OF FIRE. The focus throughout the album is on melody, whether it is from vocalist Steve Braun or through the guitar and the keyboards. However, the band does not forget to add some rhythmic crunch through drums and guitar riffs that involve more than hitting the same note throughout the song. The band as a whole is very talented, and they are not afraid to show it, although they rarely go into the realm of self-indulgence.

One thing that the listener will notice is how short the song lengths are, considering that they are a prog Metal band. This works to their advantage, however, because they keep the songs short and concise and avoid dragging the songs with chorus repetition and endless soloing. The first single, Imperfect does a fine job of introducing anyone unfamiliar with ASHENT to their sound. The guitars and keyboards switch back and forth between the lead roles but neither overpowers the other and they actually work quite well together. Sinking Beneath is the perfect opener and Starlinked Innerness does a good job serving as the album's only epic song.

Deconstructive is surprisingly consistent throughout; a few songs are weaker than others but I could listen to this album from start to finish. The only real negative aspect to the album is how awful and cheesy the lyrics are, but thankfully they rarely get in the way of the excellent music. ASHENT is one of the best Prog/Power bands coming out of Italy today, I would highly advise checking them out.