The group was gathered after vocalist Kent Summerour posted a Craigslist ad  in search of like-minded musicians in 2017.  With a lot of luck, he recruited five musicians, including an Australian.  PHOENIX RISING was born, with a line up including a second vocalist, guitar, synth, and of course, a bass and drums.  Then, the search for a producer led them to Tyler Smyth, who produced their debut album "From The Ashes".  Among their influences, there are LINKIN PARK, HOLLYWOOD UNDEAD, SKILLET, PAPA ROACH, BRING ME THE HORIZON, and POWERMAN 5000.

This album contains only four tracks, oriented Rap/Metal, like LINKIN PARK could play it.  And the influence sounds in all tracks, as in "Do You Know" with the cool voice with rap backing vocals following a cool opening on the piano, with a light chorus that combines to make an intense song.   "Open You Up"  starts with a violin/Asian style opening, that leads to a Rock/Rap song with dynamic vocals and a cool mood, like if there was two songs in the same track but with a clever transition.  The chorus reminds one of 90's Power Metal or LINKIN PARK songs.

"If I Say No" will be more in a Rap mood, with spoken parts, as in a lot of LINKIN PARK songs, but different from this band although with the same intensity and power.  Still in the same style, "Lights Out" is inspired by RAMMSTEIN, but melted with some Rap/Metal sounds.  This shows that PHOENIX RISING can also make different sounds like English sung Tanz Metal.  It is a mix between RAMMSTEIN for the tone, and LINKIN PARK for the lyrics.

So, we can say that this (mini) album is short but intense and full of good sounds.  It offers a common background to the four songs, with different sounds making each song unique.  If you like original sounds, you'll enjoy it.  If you prefer the LINKIN PARK style with spoken words on Rock/Rap sounds, you'll love it.  And if you prefer heavy sounds like RAMMSTEIN and Tanz Metal stuff, you'll appreciate this album.  It is a nice discovery that sounds familiar, but with some originality thanks to different sources of inspiration. Maybe too short, it contains good material for the next production.