Rating: 9.5 Release Date: 2005 Record Label: Scrap Metal Records Track list:
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Ulysses Siren - Above The Ashes
So yeah, if you're as much of a thrash maniac as you ought to be, you've probably latched on to the posthumous interest in these guys, a resurgent popularity that has proven so overwhelming that it has prompted the Siren fellows to regroup for another go-around. Of course, if their live performance is anywhere near as frenetic or ballsy as the two demos enclosed on this here disc, we have much to be thankful for, considering this very much holds its own against the likes of Savage Grace, Holy Terror, Laaz Rockit and any number of FANTASTIC Bay Area bands that got lost in the shuffle. Basically, Ulysses Siren is a reasonably simple compound- take the cerebral melodicism of Heathen, the slightly off-kilter, disorienting riffing of Forbidden or Holy Terror, the accomplished songwriting/arrangement of the first two Testament albums, as well as the unhinged, maniacal edge of Baloff-era Exodus, and you'd have something that approximates the Ulysses Siren experience. Whether you view it as a detriment or not, this is very much a Bay Area thrash record, and the parallels to various contemporaries are far from difficult to arrive at. What is absolutely undisputable, though, is the fact that these two demos clearly stand up to the very finest material being exhumed from an oversaturated pool of talent. I'm not entirely sure if the sound has been touched up, but the sound quality in general is absolutely stellar throughout, the drums sounding full and natural, guitars incisive and spectacularly sharp, the bass thick and audible. There is certainly a vast difference between this, and say, the Legacy recordings, the Kirk Exodus demos, Merciless Death and whatnot, and there is a definite production/songwriting cohesiveness that gives the recording a tremendous sense of continuity. In this sense, the two demos can be approached and evaluated as an LP, the band exhibiting scant progress in the two years between the demos. The brevity of this disc as a whole is also PERFECT, considering my long-held belief that all thrash recordings should be no longer than 32 minutes long. In truth, Ulysses Siren really don't strive to reinvent the Bay Area formula, nor do they assert the same distinctive, unmistakable individuality as the likes of Exodus circa 'Bonded By Blood', or, indeed, a band like Mordred (hohoho), but all of this is compensated for by some UTTERLY IMPECCABLE songwriting. This is very much the frenzied, relentless riff-o-rama of 'Schizophrenia' and 'Eternal Nightmare', and the songwriting absolutely exhibits the same watertight, immaculately-conceived structures of said records, while being a good deal more compact and less reckless than records of that nature. What this means, of course, is a good fucking deal of mindwarpingly intense riff-chucking, alloyed with a sensational sense of 'Breaking The Silence'/'Forbidden Evil' melody that renders each and every tune, with its hyperintelligent shifts and shout-along hooks, an absolute keeper. The fact that the best riff/break on the entire record surfaces halfway through closer “No Trace Of Shame” speaks volumes about how thoroughly fantastic this CD is, and I am absolutely stupefied as to how a band that doles out THIS many riffs in the course of a record can succeed in making each and every one a devastating fist to the solar plexus. If you're anything like me, you regard the RIFF as the penultimate achievement in human history, and the fundamental premise upon which all great rock n' roll is built. If you subscribe to such (sound) logic, 'Above The Ashes' will not prove itself a revelation, but at the very least will provide an orgiastic, arresting experience that you won't soon forget. Rediscover this lost gem now, and hope that the band don't go the route of Forbidden and Exodus in terms of sucking the big one.
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