EP REVIEW: The Ascension – Casket Robbery
The Ascension EP the latest release from CASKET ROBBERY. It is the follow up to last year’s debut album and is their first release with an almost entirely new line up. Bringing in new members can often be tough for bands but and with effectively the entire band being new, this EP is almost a rebirth for CASKET ROBBERY. So are they able to pick up where the previous line up left off?
Immediately any fears over the new members not being able to deliver are put to rest. Opening track Pockets Lined With Flowers does a great job of showcasing the talents of vocalist Megan Orvold. The music is still punishingly heavy and packed with grooves as well. The slight touches of atmospheric moments help give the EP a darker sound as well.
The title track is more of a slower stompy number really centred around grooves. The EP feels less focused on technicality and more on delivering straight up brutality. Lilith closes out the EP and is arguably its strongest track. It incorporates a few more guitar melodies which contrast nicely against the unrelenting heaviness of the riffs. The focus on this track does shift more towards technicality with a nice solo used in the middle.
Clocking in at just over 10 minutes with only three tracks this is a very short taster from CASKET ROBBERY. But as an introduction to the new line up it certainly does the job. These tracks demonstrate a more ambitious side to the band and even with guitarist Cory Scheider being the only remaining original member, it doesn’t feel like a huge departure from what came before. They’ve just taken the elements that worked in the past and aimed to expand and refine them. Megan Orvold in particular deserves a lot of praise for her brilliant vocal performance, she never comes across like a generic death metal vocalist and her personality really shines through.
The Ascension will no doubt appeal to fans of CASKET ROBBERY but also might be their best release for pulling in new comers. The production feels incredibly modern without sounding too clean and losing any of the darkness. Considering it would have been easy for Cory Scheider to let the band die after the line up departed, but this new line up have proven themselves to be very impressive. It wouldn’t be surprising if the full length follow up to this EP really helps CASKET ROBBERY rise up the death metal ranks.
Rating: 7/10
The Ascension is set for release on August 18th via self-release.
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