Quite a ferocious black metal album from this Russian outfit. They've got a raw, pissed off attitude and a treble-heavy edge that makes me think of some
of then Ukrainian black metallers like Hate Forest and Astrofaes, but then they bust out these awesome punky midtemp thrash parts that are total Darkthrone.
The riffs and hooks on this album are top notch, too, catchy and epic, and their keyboardist Katerina drapes eerie orchestral synths over the band's
shredding blackened thrash, floating sheets of spacey strings singing in the background. She also harnesses this weird melty, swirly synth sound on a couple
of spots on the album that sound closer to the manipulated pink feedback of My Bloody Valentine's Loveless than yer typical BM synth pomp. But
there's no mistaking this for any shoegazey black metal. Ashen Light's blackness is fierce, atmospheric and harsh, hypnotic riffs loping across wintery
wastelands, epic midtempo melodies blasted over roiling double bass drumming, everything with a thin, distorted buzzing tone that packs just enough of a
punch while sounding like the whole band is covered in frost. Their frontman is Lord Demogorgon, and his gurgling, hateful shrieks alternate with deep death
metal growls. Ashen Light are one of the only Russian black metal bands that I've heard, but they've got a potent, frostbitten savagery that rivals that of
their eastern European neighbors.