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    From Ashes To New | Album Review Digital Deluxe Edition ‘Blackout’ Out via Better Noise Music 7th June 2024.

    Album Review by Heather Laing.

    Recommended for fans of: Of Mice And Men, Against The Current, Bring Me The Horizon, and Architects.

    Returning to bring a new light onto an already great tracklist , From Ashes To New are back with a remastered version of their 2023 album ‘Blackout’, featuring new collaborations with Against The Current, Aaron Pauley, Yelawolf and Sullivan King.
    Launching into the alternative music scene all the way back in 2013 with their debut singles ‘My Fight’ and the self-labelled ‘From Ashes to New’, the American NU Metal band have definitely been putting their 10 years of experience to good use, having since produced many more single tracks, four EPs and four fully flushed album including the OG 12 track album Blackout. This album has certainly become one of the bands most popular releases with ‘Nightmare’ remaining third place in their most listened to tracks, which has only recently been bested by the tracks ‘Barely breathing feat. Against The Current and One Foot In The Grave feat. Aaron Pauley , released early from the very album we are reviewing today. The songs featured in Blackout OG are very much staple pieces of the bands usual style of music, all featuring that classic hard rock and alternative metalcore meets hip hop/electronic style that we have come to know and love, and it’s easy to see how the album become so popular with fans of both the band and the genres they specialise in; with powerful vocals, emotionally driven lyrics and fantastic instrumentals that all come together and pack a powerful punch to your senses.
    So how does one suppose they went about remastering what was already such an incredible album in its own right.
    Well to explain, let me first pull up a quote from the Doctor Who TV series from ‘Army Of Ghosts’ 2006. “Should we leave it alone? Should we back off, should we play it safe? NAH, you think: “Let’s make it BIGGER”!
    With five new collaborations and one acoustic cover, this new album boasts an amazing 18 tracks for you to enjoy at your leisure, letting you enjoy the re-mastered original before dipping your toes into the brand new cover tracks that include some very well-known names in the alternative music scene. I have to admit, I didn’t understand the choice to have every song on one tracklist when the collaboration pieces would have easily succeeded as an album on their own, but it grew on me once I had listened to the album in full and let it start again from the beginning as I realised the differences in each cover make for a really interesting comparison and offer something new to each fan while still allowing the OG to be enjoyed and appreciated. For example, the track ‘Barely Breathing’ has not had much changed to it in the remastered version, but the additional vocals from Against The Current’s collaboration are an absolutely beautiful juxtaposition against lead singer Danny Case and rap vocalist Matt Brandyberry, and the little changes in the background instrumentals add a bit more of a build up and release, giving the vocals even more of an impact.
    Other tracks, like ‘Nightmare’ and ‘Monster In Me’ On the other hand, have been given a full work over with lots of changes from the original, and they are bloody brilliant examples of how to remaster and recover a song correctly. ‘Nightmare (Sullivan King Remix)’ is probably my favourite just because of how unique the transformation is, having kept the hard rock and alternative metalcore elements with the lyrics and guttural vocals, but exchanging all other parts of the song in favour of dialling the electronic and drum & bass up to 20 for a track that would now not be out of place in a rave, never mind a mosh pit (or both). ‘Monster In Me’ is very similar in its methods, keeping the intensity of the rap vocals and hip hop rhythm, but also adding in some diehard and radical rock and metalcore instrumentals in-between the lyrics. Even the acoustic version of Hate Me Too is very powerful in its own right. Yes, the song is more muted now, and some may go as far as to say it doesn’t quite pack the same punch without the fiery drums, bass and electric guitar; but the lyrics and vocals are still very emotional and thought provoking, an attribute that is given more time to shine in a calmer manner that allows the audience to take it in more.
    As I mentioned earlier, this is a great example of a remastered album that has been done well and been done right. The songs are fantastic, they don’t take away from what the original was trying to achieve, and they actually give you something new and not seen before at the same time instead of just putting a new album cover onto the same songs from last year. Whether you’re a die hard fan of the bands previous work, a fan of the collaborating artists, or you’re just looking for a good cover of a beloved song that doesn’t ruin the original, this is definitely the album for you.
    ‘Blackout (Deluxe) ‘ Track Listing:
    Heartache
    Nightmare
    Hate Me Too
    Hope You’re Happy
    Barely Breathing
    Dead To Me
    Monster In Me
    Echoes
    Armageddon
    Legacy
    Until We Break. Feat Matty Mullins
    Broken By Design
    Barely Breathing. Feat. Against The Current
    One Foot In The Grave. Feat. Aaron Pauley
    Live Before I’m Dead (Hours)
    Monster In Me (feat. Yelawolf)
    Nightmare (Sullivan King Remix)
    Hate Me Too (Acoustic)

    Pre-save/order the new From Ashes To New – Blackout (Deluxe) album, HERE

     

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