Lion Music seem to have a knack of late of releasing albums of late from bands that show that progressive metal is anything but dead but is infact alive and kicking, you just need to know where to look obviously.  Ashent are the latest band in what seems to be an Italian hotbed of progressive metal with Lion also having recently snapped up the likes of Astra and along with the second Twinspirits album coming out in September, the Italian progressive metal scene is thriving and some serious talent is to be found here.

Ashent peddle the darker side of progressive metal having moved away from their earlier slightly more power metal leaning and are certainly more song orientated than say Dream Theater.  Ashent have taken it upon themselves to serve up their own take on the genre with some techno-thrash elements, some melodic death references and gothic atmospheres.  These “outside” influences will hopefully not deter any straight prog metal fans from reading further as they really are more subtle as opposed to completely obvious and  very work well in the context of this album.

“Sinking Beneath” is  a strong up-tempo opener, built around a pulsating busy riff which simplifies for Steve Braun’s vocals, which have a slight LaBrie feel about them but without the nasal edge.  The duel guitar work of Onofrio Falanga and Cristiano Bergamo certainly serve up an exciting sound and the production of the album is big, powerful and clear – great in fact!   “Imperfect” is up next and centres on a fine keyboard motif from Paolo Torresani before settling into a strong melody, here some more aggressive almost growl like vocals from bassist Gianpaolo Falanga work nicely with Braun’s lead vocals, nothing to scare off anyone that dislikes cookie monster vocals as these are quite restraint and mixed down. 

“Ephmera” is a highlight, a brooding dark track fusing acoustic and distorted electric guitar to fine effect, and home to a strong hook and chorus which are easily absorbed into your consciousness.  “To Develop Self Creativity” begins with an spacey keyboard motif before melodic harmonised guitar work leads way to more aggressive riff development allowing drummer Davide Buso to show off his skill fusing tribal beats with cymbal inflections and blast beats to great effect in this short 1:42 segue into “The Resonance Of Life” which takes the musical motif and enhances these further, a DT like chorus is sure to warm the hearts of the more traditional prog metal fans souls yet the band are doing their own thing here amongst the familiar overtones. 

“Cassandra” offers up more intricate time signatures fusing heavy riffing with more melodic motifs, and once again acoustic guitar makes its presence heard in his subtle use which really adds depth particularly in the middle solo section where it works incredibly well over distorted power chords beneath it. “Spectral Vanity” sees the tempo pick right up again for some fast and furious metal which almost verges on thrash before settling down into rhythmic stabs with piano lacings on top for the verses and pre-chorus.  Drummer Davide Buso once again earns his money but not only can this guy throw in dazzling fills but can also groove, something missing amongst many rock drummers these days. 

“How Could It Feel Like This” is another mightily impressive original body of work, building from an almost film soundtrack type intro before building into almost drum and bass dance territory yet with an underpinning metal slant – highly original and a great success with the fusion not only grabbing your attention but the track is another highlight.   “Ebb And Flow Of Awareness” is a all too brief instrumental (clocking in just under 3 mins) which allows the band to show off their chops yet do so with taste and style, fans of Symphony X and Vanden Plas will enjoy this immensely with great use of light and shade.  This is followed by the longest track on the album, the 6 minute plus “Starlinked Innerness” which has everything that makes the Ashent sound so personalised about it contained within and is another success, the lone keyboard section 2/3^rds of the way through was a particular treat.  “Eclipsing Binary” sees more intricate riffing built more around rhythmic patterns as opposed to “notes per second” contests, this again gives a solid base for the vocals which are darker here than elsewhere yet again have a thoroughly enjoyable air about them.  The album closes with the aptly titled “Music For Departure” is a final instrumental or should I say sound dialog which again is quite film score like in its delivery and certainly makes you feel as though the play has finished, a nice closing touch.

Overall Ashent have served up a mighty fine slice of progressive metal in “Deconstructive”.  Possessing an original sound is one thing, but writing a consistently strong set of tunes for an album is quite another yet Ashent have managed this with ease. One thing that strikes me is how natural the album sounded, this is a band that has their sound together no question, a band that knows what they want to deliver and go about doing that with maximum impact.  This certainly deserves a place amongst metal fans collections as it’s a highly impressive body of work likely to suit a wide range of metal fans.  Check it out now.