ASH OF ASHES melt extremely epic and heroic sagas into sensitive, heartfelt intoned sound collages on their effort Down The White Waters. Finely tuned acoustic guitars play an important role in the stories, also a certain positive basic mood, but at the same time also thoughtfulness, is inherent in the pieces. The earthy, emotional voice gives the compositions an unmistakable stamp.

Sympathetic, down-to-earth and highly sublime, the first piece Down The White Waters already develops into a timelessly beautiful, heroically flowing sound stream, from which one lets oneself be carried away all too gladly.
The tranquil voyage then becomes a bit faster in Flames On The Horizon, but there are no rabid attacks. Stomping, the battleship makes its way through the now rougher sea, always kept on course by the wonderful vocals that let the listener dive deep into the acoustic universe, in which time and space seem to play no role.
Besides Bathory, powerful representatives like Thyrfing or Falkenbach, sometimes also Manowar or the magical Lumsk come to my mind, because ASH OF ASHES know just as well how to create sounds that let you look into the wide landscape on the top of a fjord...a portion of danceable folk breaks through the rather contemplative scenario in the nice piece Ash Of Ashes and a harsher vocal form adds another dynamic facet.
Intuitive emotional outbursts, restrained indulgence, medium-fast rhythms and tender rests combine to an emotional work that can convince without big gestures and captivates over a longer playing time in the four-part epic The Lay Of Wayland. Acoustic passages, wide melodic arcs, inconspicuous folk insertions, elegiac chants, darker moods with snarling growls or steaming guitar power take the helm.
In the chorus of Chambers Of Stone the drama of While Heaven Wept sends its greetings before a piano journey leads us to the end of the album.

ASH OF ASHES has succeeded in producing a touching album with Down The White Waters, which takes the listener into its own hands through its simplicity as well as its variable dynamics. The band eagerly collects plausible points without bold clichés - that's the sound of sublime music from passionate convicts!