ASZENSION

Canadian band AsZension have been on my radar for a while but as with many bands, I have so much I have to listen to for reviews and other bands I am listening to, I just kept forgetting to check them out. Fortunately, my good friends at Prog Sphere PR fixed the issue by sending me the new AsZension album, "Portals." I am glad they did!

AsZension are an instrumental progressive rock trio who are centered around Kevin Thiessen, the keyboardist, guitarist, percussionist and composer. His keyboard work is often comfortable and challenging which is why I love it.

This is not to downplay the contributions of the rhythm section. In fact, with very little overdubs (if any), bassist Etienne Girard and drummer Colin Righton are critical to the flow and groove of each track. Righton keeps the songs going and Girard is a very melodic bassist who interacts well with Thiessen's shape shifting keyboard work.

But how is the music on "Portals"? It's forward-thinking, but most importantly it's enjoyable. Whether it's the 12-odd minute opening epic "Spectral Dynasty, Pt. I - III," which at times sounds like Thiessen is on a journey through sounds with his keyboard while the song is pulsating, to the following track "Transmigration," sounds otherworldly.

"Portals" is an album that forces itself to the front of your consciousness whether you like it or not. I've taken a while to find AsZension but like anything truly viral, this is a band that will stay with me for sure.

Aszension turned out to be a great album that doesn't quite seem eclectic, but is still totally weird in that it has a great way of putting together otherwise normal music in interesting ways. There's a lot of really cool clean guitar work, and ethnic influences abound. There's a ton of flamenco breathing through this record and quite a bit of atmospheric new age like elements, all presented in pleasing fashion. Actually, it surprised me that beneath all of the great melodic composition this is actually a rock guitar album that makes you forget that it's a guitar album. All around there are beautiful textures and catchy beats that make this all instrumental offering a pleasure to listen to. There's even a times where it sounds like video game soundtracks a la Uematsu, which is perhaps why I dig this album so much. From the large atmospheric swells to the chunky guitar riffs, Aszension definitely didn't have in mind to sound like something particular, yet there's a cohesive feel to the whole thing. Some great tracks to listen to are "Time Dilation" with its fantastic blend of soundtrack with harsh and dissonant atmospheric keyboards kicking it off, as well as Crystal Caves, which somehow recalled the great minimalist electronic composers and mixed it with modern elements of film, new age, games, and Asian influences. Quite the enjoyable album all around.