AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: ASHEN HORDE — “THE PHYSICIAN”

 Premieres  No Responses »
Oct 142022
 

For those who might be encountering Ashen Horde for the first time or just need a reminder, it began as the solo project of Los Angeles-based musician Trevor Portz. Working alone, he released a handful of EPs and two albums starting in 2013. Beginning with The Alchemist, a 2017 EP, he joined forces with vocalist Stevie Boiser, known for his work with such tech-death heavyweights as Vale of Pnath, Inferi, and Equipoise, and both were in harness again for their third album, 2019’s Fallen Cathedrals.

There is now a fourth album headed our way via Transcending Obscurity Records. Entitled Antimony, it features an expanded Ashen Horde line-up that now includes drummer extraordinaire Robin Stone (Norse) and fleet-fingered bassist Igor (from Abhoria and NightWraith).

Over the course of all the releases mentioned above, Ashen Horde have demonstrated an adventurous spirit, with an ever-evolving amalgam of genre influences and no real interest in boxing themselves in. Take, for example, the absolutely exhilarating (and riotously deranged) song from Antimony that we’re premiering today along with a nightmarish video. Moving at a near-relentless pace, “The Physician” blends together (at puree speeds) technical death metal, black metal, and flares of prog, with breathtaking results. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: ASHEN HORDE — “PARITY LOST”

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Mar 082019
 

 

The last time we featured the music of Ashen Horde in these pages was almost exactly two years ago when we premiered the band’s two-track EP, The Alchemist, which was intended to pave the way to the band’s third album. Now, that album has been completed, with the title of Fallen Cathedrals — and today we’re hosting another Ashen Horde premiere, a breathtaking track off that new record named “Parity Lost“.

For those who might be encountering Ashen Horde for the first time, it began as the solo project of Los Angeles-based musician Trevor Portz. Working alone, he released a handful of EPs and two albums since 2013. Beginning with The Alchemist, he joined forces with vocalist Stevie Boiser, known for his work with such tech-death heavyweights as Vale of Pnath, Inferi, and Equipoise, and both are in harness again for Fallen Cathedrals. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): ASHEN HORDE — “THE ALCHEMIST”

 Album Reviews, Premieres  No Responses »
Mar 142017
 

 

Ashen Horde was spawned within the bleak, frost-bitten desolation of… Los Angeles. Originally the solo project of Trevor Portz, Ashen Horde has released a handful of EPs and two albums since 2013, and with an expanded line-up Ashen Horde is today releasing a new digital and 7″ vinyl EP named The Alchemist through their new label Transcending Obscurity Records. To commemorate the event, we have a stream of the two tracks on The Alchemist.

Joining Trevor Portz (who performs guitar and bass) on The Alchemist are vocalist Stevie Boiser and drummer Jeremy Portz. This new EP is a precursor to the band’s next full-length album, which will also be released by Transcending Obscurity, and it’s a mind-bending and unpredictable two-song trip. Continue reading »