Album Review: FROM ASHES TO NEW – Day One

From Ashes To New is a fairly apt band name for this new Pennsylvania based act. They use familiar elements made popular by other bands, but combine them in new ways throughout their debut album, Day One. [columns] [column size=”1/3″]

From Ashes To New owe a huge debt to Hollywood Undead, especially in the rapped vocals of Matt Brandyberry. In fact, his flow is so familiar that it would be easy for someone unfamiliar with this band to assume this was a side project or even a new Hollywood Undead album. If that were the whole story it would be easy to write them off, but they also blend elements of Linkin Park on tracks like “Breaking Now,” “Every Second” – which is the album highlight with a chorus bigger than Kanye West’s ego – and “Shadows” all sound like they could belong on Minutes To Midnight, and melodic metalcore, ala Crown The Empire, I See Stars, or We Came As Romans; “Face The Day” is downright pummeling, and even the clean vocals sound like the band belongs on Rise Records. It’s this last element that really propels the songs into fresh territory. The triple-threat of clean, soaring vocals, in your face rap, and guttural roars makes for a unique combination, even if the individual pieces have been used before.

Musically, the band charges straight ahead into arena rock, which is fitting considering their recent tour opening for Five Finger Death Punch and Papa Roach. The hooks are big, the choruses are huge – see breakout lead single “Through It All” – and Matt Brandyberry contributes excellent synths and programming to the songs, giving them a clean, borderline dubstep backdrop, including a brief full-on electronic breakdown on second track “Farther From Home” that steals the entire song. A couple songs don’t really pull themselves together – “Downfall,” and “Same Old Story.”

Much like the recent success of Bring Me The Horizon, From Ashes To New could be a great gateway band between radio rock and more underground metalcore fans, and they definitely have crossover appeal to both camps. It’s a promising start, and if they can fine tune their sound into something completely their own, they could be one of the biggest new bands of the decade.

[8/10]