Ashenspire
United Kingdom · formed 2013 · last active 2022
Ashenspire is a Glasgow avant-garde/progressive black metal act formed in 2015, one of Scotland's most distinctive experimental metal bands. Their acclaimed 2022 album 'Hostile Architecture' (Code666) welds black-metal dissonance to avant-garde jazz, weaving saxophone, violin, Rhodes and prepared piano beneath vocalist Alasdair Dunn's Sprechstimme delivery. Lyrically it is a scathing, class-conscious critique of late capitalism, gentrification and urban design.
SCORE PROFILE
Accent numbers counted towards the index. Hover an axis — or hold it on a phone — for what it means.
WHY THOSE SCORES
- Jazzy 5 — 'Hostile Architecture' (2022) leans 'further into avant-garde jazz tendencies,' with Matthew Johnson's saxophone integral to the sound alongside Rhodes/prepared piano; listeners note its 'jazziness and tension' (Bandcamp).
- Black 5 — Built on a ferocious progressive black-metal framework with fast blast beats and dissonance (Bandcamp/Transcending Obscurity).
- Technical 4 — Complex, through-composed progressive arrangements layering Rhodes, prepared piano, violin and saxophone over shifting metal structures (Bandcamp credits).
- Theatrical 5 — Vocalist Alasdair Dunn delivers politically charged lyrics in a Sprechstimme spoken/declaimed style, augmented by guest operatic tenor/bass and soprano/alto voices and 'sharp orchestral elements' — an art-music, theatrical presentation (Bandcamp credits).
MEMBERS
- Alasdair Dunnvocals, drums
- Fraser Gordonguitars, vocals
- Ben Brownbass
- James Johnsonviolin, vocals
- Matthew Johnsonsaxophone, vocals
CONNECTIONS
FURTHER LISTENING
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