Review: Ashylus – Leave Your Mark
Artist: Ashylus
Album: Leave Your Mark
Rating: 10/10
Washington’s Ashylus has been paving their way to the top of their local scene since the beginning. I’ve seen them called one of the best bands to come out of the area and I honestly have to agree. If you’re a fan of melodic hardcore, this is a band you NEED to check out. Their debut full-length album, “Leave Your Mark” is set to devastate and motivate on February 7th and it’s sure to surprise people. Taking their aggressive sound and really honing it to perfection with every note, this band is ready to leave it’s mark on your heart.
Instrumentals: From start to finish, this album is unrelenting with the aggressive sound that they’ve been known for. Not unfamiliar to a melodic hardcore album, but it’s the way that the instrumentals are arranged that is extraordinary. While your body will want to mosh, your heart will sing out and latch onto each and every track. For example: the opening track, “Uncharted” starts off slow, but hits you like a freight train when it picks up. One of my favorite tracks, instrumentally, is “Beacons” because of the twists and turns you’ll hear. You can go from straight, unrelenting force to breakdowns and then guitar riffs that will tug at the heart strings and make you pull out your best air guitar. The beautiful “June”, which starts off acoustically-driven and then explodes really gave me chills. From what I can tell, this is a track about a friend of the band who passed on. It had me in tears…and has done so every single time I’ve listened since.
Lyrical Content: This band is all about promoting nothing but positive vibes and living your life with passion. Again, “Beacons” is an example I’ll use. “I’ve seen far too many people live their lives without passion, so promise me you won’t be the same! Follow your beacons, they’ll light your way!” It’s all about living your life to the fullest and always staying true to yourself. The album is filled with a positive message that will really speak to fans. If you’re down and out, this is an album you want to pick up… I guarantee it will pick you back up quickly.
Ashylus is proving, without a shadow of a doubt, that they have every right to stake claim as one of the best bands to come out of the Seattle area. Where such incredible bands like Aiden, Monsters Scare You!, Into the Flood and more have made their mark on the scene. Ashylus is reminding you to “Leave Your Mark” on this world with every waking moment. Don’t sleep on this release, it’s sure to go down as one of the best of 2014!
Pre-orders coming soon!
