Salt Lake City’s Harvest of Ash will release their debut album, Ache and Impulse, on Sept. 23 through Horror Pain Gore Death Productions. And contrary to the Roman numerology, “I – Prodrome,” which is premiering below, isn’t the opener. The eponymous “Harvest of Ash” leads off and earns its place by heralding the dirt-camouflaged complexity of the death-sludge rock that follows. But “Prodrome” is a beginning, launching a four-song suite that brings the as-stated-below central theme of Ache and Impulse forward using the suffering of migraines as a metaphor for toxic humanity.

No shortage of subject matter there, obviously. Ache and Impulse essentially begins again with “I – Prodrome,” which unfurls as the first of two seven-minute pieces before two 10-minute pieces, so clearly the intention is to draw the listener deeper into the atmosphere being created. And it’s that atmosphere that makes the placement of “Harvest of Ash” first make sense, since with its fading in feedback and standalone impression, it does crucial work in setting the mood and letting the audience know where they’re headed — down, down, down, then maybe a little up — throughout the rest of the 41-minute LP. On paper it looks like “Harvest of Ash” was tacked onto a concept record. In real life, the five-minute introduction of the gritty fuzz in Pepper Glass‘ guitar and the wrenching gurgle of his accompanying vocals, of the density and heft in Grahm Reynolds‘ bass and the sharpness of Mike DiTullio‘s snare cutting through to ground the forward motion and underscore the subtle dynamic of the material in terms of tempo. And just before the four-minute mark, Glass‘ guitar gives a little hint of shimmer through all that mud, and that’s crucial to understanding “I – Prodrome” and everything else that follows as well.

The word ‘prodrome’ means an early symptom or the beginning of onset of a disease or condition. It is getting the headache, in this case. Production by Andy F’ing Patterson, who is my write-in candidate for president in 2024, assures that when “I – Prodrome” crashes in after about a minute of its ambient guitar intro, the effect feels like it’s putting due pressure on your skull. Ache and Impulse runs contrary to genre in a few ways, whether the genre in question is death metal, doom, heavy rock, post-whathaveyou or sludge, and though in some ways it’s defined by the gutturalism of Glass‘ vocals, the accompanying sense of space in the material isn’t to be understated. “I – Prodrome” picks up this cue from the opener and expands on it, while the centerpiece “II – Aura” — referring to a sensory experience that might induce or worsen a migraine; sensitivity to light, sound, etc. — with a slog of drum thud and sparse guitar building its doomly presence over the first three minutes before the full roll takes hold, leading to an intense lead that’s clearly designed to convey pain or an unsettled feeling. But for the vocals, you might call it post-rock sped up, but its shimmer continues until the crunched-noise finish and is almost a manic answer back to the guitar in the second half of “Harvest of Ash.”

This leaves “III – Headache” and closer “IV – Postdrome,” which together represent more than half Ache and Impulse‘s runtime and which bring Harvest of Ash to places psychedelic, extreme and at very least thoughtful if not progressive, despite their arguments for their own primitivism. “III – Headache” touches on post-metal in its midsection with quick jabs-at-your-temples of feedback and resolves in a righteously thudding march into held-out distortion that leads directly into the guitar intro for “IV – Postdrome,” the longest song by three seconds, the only one to feature any kind of clean vocals — they arrive 17 seconds into the song like a plot twist in the last chapter of the story — and hold surprisingly graceful sway over that three-plus-minute procession into the ensuing lumber. Your symptoms may have abated, but it’s not quite over yet. A scathing passage of guitar at around six minutes in calls back to “II – Aura” in twisted fashion, layers to be consumed shortly by the sheer weight of what’s to come. This feels like the apex of the record, but the three-piece aren’t there yet, and the actual crescendo comes right before it’s over, a push and wash that builds as it goes until finally crashing out to silence, presumably sleep or even just the moment when you realize your head doesn’t hurt anymore and you try not to think about it too hard lest the headache hear your thoughts and return.

A debut that has this much nuance beneath its surface doesn’t happen every day, and in terms of potential, Harvest of Ash come across like they’re ready to pursue any and all avenues they’ve already laid forth. Whether it’s the most drowned-in-mud deathly stretch, an immersion in comedown atmospherics, or the might-just-take-off-and-fly guitar work, Ache and Impulse offers thrills for those who can handle it and are willing to dedicate attention to its thematic and sonic depth. I suppose if you want to just listen and think of it as being run through a compactor of rib-collapsing riffs, that’s probably fine too — I doubt you’d hear the band complain — but there’s no doubt that as you return to that experience again and again, the richness of their approach is there waiting, with hints dropped along the way for where they might be headed in the longer term: Down, down, down. Then maybe a little up.

Enjoy “I – Prodrome” on the player below, followed by more from the PR wire:

Salt Lake City’s HARVEST OF ASH is unleashing their debut full-length – Ache and Impulse. Metal maestro Andy Patterson (Sub Rosa, The Otolith) recorded the album. The band has signed to Philadelphia’s Horror Pain Gore Death Productions and the album is set for release on September 23.

Ache and Impulse builds from a migraine headache’s four stages. We become ensnared in the morals of broken people (prodrome and aura). These narrow standards stifle our instincts and gifts (headache). Yet, we can emerge from this mental fog and embrace who we truly are (postdrome).

Anchoring this journey is a meticulous blend of doom and post-metal, sludge, and hardcore. Colossal riffs, spacey interludes, and triumphant resolutions fill these tracks. Enthralling and devastating, HARVEST OF ASH pushes the boundaries while bringing the beatdown.

This eclectic sound is little surprise given the band’s origins. It is the culmination of members Grahm Reynolds (bass), Mike DiTullio (drums), and Pepper Glass (guitar and vocals) playing for decades in both East and West coast projects. After they found themselves in Utah, they found each other.

And the experience of creating a migraine-themed album? With a wry smile, they’ll tell you that it’s been one big headache.

Tracklist:
1. Harvest of Ash (5:27)
2. I – Prodrome (7:46)
3. II – Aura (7:22)
4. III – Headache (10:33)
5. IV – Postdrome (10:36)

HARVEST OF ASH is:
Grahm Reynolds – bass
Mike DiTullio – drums
Pepper Glass – guitar and vocals

Harvest of Ash on Facebook

Harvest of Ash on Instagram

Harvest of Ash on Bandcamp

Horror Pain Gore Death Productions on Facebook

Horror Pain Gore Death Productions on Instagram

Horror Pain Gore Death Productions on Bandcamp

Horror Pain Gore Death Productions website

Tags: Ache and Impulse, Harvest of Ash, Harvest of Ash Ache and Impulse, Horror Pain Gore Death Productions, Salt Lake City, Utah

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 10th, 2022 at 10:34 am and is filed under audiObelisk, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.