As if Voices Of Extreme wasn't enough of a challenge to my melodic rock brain, along comes Rites Of Ash. This lot, comprising of 80-two on vocals, Lazzo on guitars/keyborads, Lumer on percussion and Berry on bass, describe themselves electronic pop/hard rock. "Live Venom" is their second album.
Describing themselves as electronic pop/hard rock doesn't cover the full range of influences on here. We've got everything from Lady Gaga pop to death metal.
The first couple of tracks feature voice box vocals, but otherwise are uptempo modern rock. Toxic is strange mixture of a new romantic electronic style with a more edgy chorus. The next track, "Burn", has Death Metal style vocals mixed in with more standard vocals. An eclectic mixture for sure which is repeated on "Breathless" and "Hand Grenade Heart". Tracks like "The Sleeper" & "Disaffected" come across as Bowie goes metal. There certainly is plenty of variety.
The whole thing is a bit of sonic overload, especially when the death metal growls start. If Rob Zombie went pop this is what it would sound like.
Rating: 3 stars
