ASHES YOU LEAVE – The Cure For Happiness
- Posted on 07-11-2012
Hailing from the war torn nation of Croatia, Ashes You Leave formed in 1995 and recorded two demos before signing with Morbid Records who released their debut album "The Passage Back to Life" in 1998. A series of album releases followed through the years, along with a couple of member changes. For this sixth studio album, Ashes You Leave gain a new female lead singer from Italy in Giada Etro- which could provide bigger appeal for this doom/ gothic metal sextet.
Musically the band lean more towards a doom style, injecting tinges of male death vocals, violin work from Marta Batinic and alternate point/ counterpoint clean and electric riffing from guitarists Berislav Poje and Matija Rempesic that mirrors UK acts such as My Dying Bride and Anathema. The gothic elements come out with Giada’s semi-operatic range, very hypnotic and mysterious to allure and entice your ears to noteworthy tracks like the upbeat "Summers End" and Moonspell meets Middle Eastern "The Ever-Changing".
Constructing the album over a six month period, Ashes You Leave spare no expense in terms of finding the right moments to let certain chords ring out or riffs to breathe- "…For Happiness" an example of slow segmented repetition to build atmospheric tension, the violin circling about in a playful serenade for the audience’s pleasure.
"The Cure for Happiness" can indeed become somber, despair in a heavy context- drawing out the emotional overload in a healthy construct. Seems like I have some search engine duties to fulfill, as Ashes You Leave get the job done for my doom metal with gothic needs- and this 49 minute album is only the tip of the iceberg.