Master’s Ashes sees 1990s underdogs join together. The two prominent figures here are Eric (E-Force) Forrest and Afzaal Deen. The former is best known for his time with Voivod, on two criminally underrated records: Negatron and Phobos. The latter navigated novel intersections between death/thrash and hardcore/sludge with Crisis, another sorely under-appreciated act.
In Forrest’s case, his excellent work with Voivod was overshadowed by the band’s already stellar discography. With Deen, his off-kilter take bouncing between hardcore and metal never grabbed the scene’s attention. It is in later years that their contributions were reassessed, and that makes the Master’s Ashes’ debut a potential return for a forgotten scene.
Master’s Ashes’ How the Mighty Have Fallen has two gears. The more aggressive register, where they tap into the dissonance and momentum of Voivod, but without evoking the same sense of speed. “Divert the Conflict III” displays this attitude, crashing down with heavy momentum. The drumming here is fitting, not flashy but purposeful, adding flourishes and enriching the progression.
However, it is the second gear that comes on top, and this is where Master’s Ashes shine. The songs unfold through a Neurosis-derived atmospheric approach. “Defiant Disorder” takes on a ragged groove, its dark and towering form rising through the determined pacing. Heavy guitars and off-kilter electronics combine to create an apocalyptic presence that draws from the doom tradition.
It is easy to see the connection to Crisis’s masterwork, The Hollowing. How the Mighty Have Fallen carries the same heavy presence, combining it with a deeply crafted atmosphere. It is a joining of traditions, where the Black Sabbath lineage, with its heavy riffs and gruelling pace, clashes against the Amebix structural approach. It is an old tale, the push and pull between hardcore and doom that results in the sludge bleakness. It’s a tension that Deen deeply understands, and Master’s Ashes channel it flawlessly.
The sludge mould, on its own, is a potent tool, but it can also serve as fertile ground. The slow pace, heavy guitars, and despairing vocals can naturally tilt the process toward psychedelia. It’s where the Phobos DNA comes in, where the sludge mechanics open up to produce a decadent, simultaneously otherworldly motif.
What ties everything together is neither the guitars nor the pacing, but the keyboards. They enrich the background with their rich texture, breathing a harrowing sense into the slow movement. They achieve this without overpowering the compositions, but rather by complementing the riffs and harsh vocals. The slow hardcore now turns darker, the sludge despair being palpable through the gloomy presence of the keyboards.
How the Mighty Have Fallen carries the spark of its individual members’ past experiences. The intersections of extreme music, the fusion of metal and hardcore, the dark atmosphere, and the sense of psychedelia are all delivered with valiant force. The only downside is that Master’s Ashes are walking on an existing path rather than forging their own. Maybe that is something that will come over time, but for the moment, their debut is a strong reminder of a forgotten time and scene, and how brilliant that was.