Ashbringer celebrates ten years of Vacant with a reissue of their debut album. Coming to us from Sound of the Northwoods, the studio of Nick Stanger founder of the band, this remaster improves on the atmospheric sound that brought them their success.

Drawing inspiration from sources such as Alcest and Wolves in the Throne Room, Vacant incorporates rich synth tones with deep emotional vocals. As someone hailing from the Midwest themselves, this is one of the first names that comes to mind when someone mentions the local area’s signature sound. It is depressive like a deep freeze in winter and simultaneously ethereal like dew drops settling after a storm. Through the remaster, one can truly appreciate the artistry being achieved here and fully grasp their musical journey to this point.

Opening track Ethereal Aura, Pt. 1 slowly transitions us into the headspace of the album with acoustic guitar and deep croons. It is a melancholic moment amplified when distortion takes hold and blends into Ethereal Aura, Pt 2.

The guitars hit with the weight of a freight train taking their time to build atmosphere before launching into heartbreaking vocals. This track balances on the razor edge of harmonic and noisy, with some very solid melodies throughout that get cut through the strings and bass that you can blessedly hear. All the elements mesh perfectly together creating a solid atmospheric black metal two-parter which was great background music as I took my morning hike.

Third track Lucid is another slow-burn opening with a focus on the guitars once again. What I particularly find enjoyable about Ashbringer as an all-encompassing statement is that they take their time to build up to a satisfying climax. There’s a lot of time that goes into arranging the accompaniment which self evident. This song does err on the heavier side with a bit more of a brutal edge.

The vocals that sound like they’ve been torn from the throat of a torture victim and the drums that refuse to yield. What adds a necessary bit of texture here is the clean vocals which are crestfallen croons or despair. It’s a very satisfying mix of both worlds, the despondency of sorrow and the other side being pure anguish. When we do close out the ambient ritualistic music seems to perfectly ingrain itself with the flow of the track.

With Vacant Eyes follows the suit of what has been laid before with probably my favorite bass line in any of the songs on this EP. This lulls like the rocking of a ship on stormy waters, with noisy crashes of thunder courtesy of the mix of unclean tones in the guitars and driving beats from the drums. This also has another very welcomed sung section which were some of my favorite parts of this album.

Bitter deviates from what we’ve seen but is the best example of how future tracks would sound. There’s a stronger sense of layering here and experimentation that would be signature to Ashbringer’s future sound. This was my favorite track through and through just for the innovation alone. It’s the one to listen to if you want an unadulterated taste of what their music has to offer. The perfect closing track to a standout debut.

I could wax poetic about Ashbringer’s Vacant all day but, I’ll spare you the dramatics and instead implore you to listen yourselves. This delivers on the promise of allowing you to hear Ashbringer’s earliest chapter as it was meant to be.

Vacant is available for purchase on Bandcamp, both digitally and physically. Please check it and send them some love over on their socials. Until next time Northwoods dwellers, hails or something.

RATING: 4 out of 5

RATING SYSTEM:

• 0 – 1: Fucking shit
• 1 – 2: Shit
• 2 – 3: Not Bad Shit
• 3 – 4: Pretty Good Shit
• 4 – 5: Amazing Fucking Shit
• 5: The Best Shit You Will Ever Hear

PRESS SOURCE: AGAINST PR