Albums

Album Review: Ashes Divide

Album: Keep Telling Myself It’s Alright
Label: Island Records

The shadow of Maynard James Keenan is one that looms heavily over Billy Howardel. The two have been intrinsically linked for many years. From meeting in a bar, Howardel went on to become guitar tech for Tool, before Maynard applied his inimitable vocal style to Billy’s music in alt-metal supergroup A Perfect Circle. In a sense, Ashes Divide (commonly typeset as ASHES dIVIDE) offers Howardel’s first major attempt to break free from his erstwhile bandmate, and he seems determined to take the chance to assert himself. As well as providing lead vocals for an entire album for the first time (he did sing on a few, but not all, tracks on the final APC album, eMotive) he plays nearly all the instruments, with the exception of the drums, provided by yet another familiar name, Josh Freese, formerly of APC, Nine Inch Nails, and countless others.

Fears that debut album ‘Keep Telling Myself It’s Alright’ would amount simply to an APC album with different vocals are quickly assuaged. While few would argue that Howardel’s vocals are in the same league as those of Keenan, he exhibits surprising versatility; snaking smoothly along with the softer parts while holding enough venom in reserve for heavier moments. The music, too, defers from defaulting to a series of distorted guitar blasts; piano parts play as big a role as Howardel’s distinctive riffs.

Indeed, the songs are deliberately held back from becoming too heavy, building slowly and subtly with occasional blasts of riffery. Second track ‘Denial Waits’ is a perfect example, using the frantic, minimalist verse to build up towards a distorted chorus, but bringing it straight back again. That said, it is not entirely devoid of more anthemic, conventional rock songs. ‘Enemies’ thunders along threateningly and growls with confrontational language, while first single ‘The Stone’ is one of the best tracks on the album - based around a storming main riff, it features some excellent guitar work and a breathless vocal delivery.

For the most part, however, ‘Keep Telling Myself It’s Alright’ is truly something of a slow burner; dreamy, deliberate and dark. On tracks like ‘Forever Can Be’ and the outstanding ‘Ritual’, Howardel’s voice flits almost ethereally over brooding pianos, stop-start drums and subtle, underlying guitar lines, while album closer ‘Sword’, another of the standout songs, is indicative of the whole – intense, but not unduly heavy, building up through a meshing of sounds more than a weighty, muscular riff.

This is not an instantly accessible album, with the exception of the aforementioned ‘Enemies’ and ‘The Stone’, on first listen it is difficult to fathom. However, with each listen the intensity of it becomes more overpowering and obvious and justifies Howardel’s decision to make his first solo record as ambitious as this doubtless is. An excellent debut, well worthy of investigation.

For fans of: A Perfect Circle, AFI, 30 Seconds To Mars
Band links = Ashes Divide

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Tags: album, cd, ashes divide, keep telling myself, review, a perfect circle, afi, 30 seconds to mars, island

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