Ascend – Ample Fire Within (Southern Lord) Keith Boyd 6.4.8
The crazy-assed, shit yer pants, Jazzed out riffery from such outfits as Peter Brotzman’s Die Like A Dog Quartet and Interstellar Space era Coltrane has always been a bitter pill to swallow. The purists dismiss it all out of hand. I suppose it strays too far from the accepted notions of theme and variation to sit as background noise for a night of wine-coolers, cologne and open-necked shirts. Even the initiated can have trouble wrapping their heads around certain levels of skronk. But if you give it a chance and take a little time to let the music unfold a bit you start to the beauty and genius woven into the deep, greasy grooves. I guess it’s only natural that sonic-beast Greg Anderson of the mighty, mighty SunnO))) would see this inherent beauty and then take the time work it into the shaded crunch of his new ensemble, “Ascend”’s new album. “Ample Fire Within” is an epic droning tour de sludge with densely packed moments of avant jazz structure and dynamics.

Ascend is a new collaborative musical project between Gentry Densley (Iceburn, Eagle Twin) and Greg Anderson (sunn 0))),Goatsnake, Engine Kid). Both have been making music that has crossed paths several times in the last 19 years, the most notable being during the 90s when Anderson's band Engine Kid toured with and shared a split album with Densely's band Iceburn. As Ascend they have reigned in some of their other group’s signature sounds while not straying too far from what they are best known for. I love the inspired and “ultimate” sound of this disc. The overall aesthetic is enlightened caveman. The centerfold spread of the two behemoths in all of their hirsute glory is worth the price of admission alone. You can easily picture a club filled with the headbanging hordes getting their fists pumping and when the sounds shifts towards that “Old Time Cosmic Jazz” they all start waltzing or Grateful Dead spinning. The layering of sound events on display here is impressive as well. Native American chants mix with industrial grinds and pops. Heavily treated and robotic vocals intone and chant through the chiming riffs and SunnO)))-like distortion bouts. The disc is also notable for featuring a number of guest spots not the least of which is Kim Thayil from Soundgarden.

Ample Fire Within is a long disc that unfolds like some primal, occult ritual. There are slow motion sections that peel off like a glacier shedding building sized chunks of ice to swamp the cruise ships. At other times melody seems to rise from the froth and ooze for a minute. It hovers in space only to succumb to the doom and heavy swells. Given his SunnO))) partner Stephen O’Malley’s wide range of collaborations and one-off’s it’s nice to see Greg Anderson spread his wings a bit. Let’s hope however that this doesn’t signify the end of SunnO))). While this disc is a pleasure, that would be a tragedy. Ascend is a worthy, soul-scorching dose of epic, future-primitive, crunch and skronk. Enjoy it all the way down the rabbit hole.