City of Ashes Vs The Mighty Rubix Cube
It's 7.15pm on Tuesday 15th of March, Darren and I are in Eastbourne
town in a pretty noisy rehearsal room.
Darren has had a very unique challenge laid down by the heavy rock
band "City of Ashes".
The challenge and rules are simple, Darren has to complete the Rubix
Cube before City of Ashes can finish playing their new song!
Some of you might recall my blog a few weeks ago that mentioned how
Darren had started playing with the Rubix Cube. Well more recently he
had worked out how to solve it consistently within three and a half to
five minutes, however this is only when undisturbed or listening to
relaxing tunes.
City of Ashes new track is called 'A calm like lethargy' and is about four
minutes long, so they decided to challenge Darren to a....
Read More Here http://audiorokit.wordpress.com/2011/03/23/rubix-cube-vs-city-of-ashes/
See the Video : http://www.youtube.com/user/audiorokitTV#p/u/0/Jp9zPuCMVu4
Reply
The Mag -
City Of Ashes dive into a blistering rock sound with 'The Art Of Opacity'. It stretches into moments of metal, but with lots of melody to balance the more cacophonous moments.
'In The Cold Light Of Day' is a muted rock ballad with some bonus additional screaming in the later sections.
The record ends with 'Between A Rock And Her Razor', which is almost a skate-punk anthem from the Drive-Thru era.
Review by Michael Beck
Reply
The City of Ashes Myspace has been redeveloped by LookHappy Designs, they did an awesome job for us. We won't say anymore just check it out and let us know what you think.
- http://www.myspace.com/ashesofthecity -
Reply
Hey guys,
Firstly, unfortunate news. Our show on the 19th October at Sumo, Leicester has been cancelled by the promoter. This is, of course, out of our hands and a real shame. To everyone in Leicester, our apologies and we hope to see you soon.
Secondly, we are only playing a few more shows this year before locking ourselves away in our rehearsal room to demo some of our new material. We can't wait to unleash on you all. In the mean time chances are limited to get to see us this year so make sure you get to one of the shows coming up!
Thanks so much for all the support and wonderful messages we've been receiving. It means the world to us.
Much love,
COA HQ
x
Reply
Metal Team UK -
City of Ashes started out as an acoustic band two years ago. The acoustic element is evident on this short 4 track EP from the Sussex-based quintet, but there’s plenty more to it than that.
There’s no obvious template really. It could be said that the style inclines towards the Rock end of Metal, but rules don’t really apply. The opener “The Art of Opacity” sounds as if Hawkwind are warming up before heading off into a very accessible rock number with an old-fashioned sounding guitar lead and pretensions to Hardcore. The lyrics are unspeakably dark and don’t clear much up – the art of opacity, indeed. Although stylistically each track is different, it’s evident that the band is using its resources and imagination to create a multi-coloured structure and variation in pace while respecting the need for fluidity within a song. The production isn’t always top quality on this EP, as you would expect from a self-release on a limited budget, and the vocal mix in particular needs beefing up in places but the potential is there for something massive. The production is less of a problem on “In the Cold Light of Day…” which is predominantly acoustic. As a song it is classic, the melody is nice and again the lyrics are shadowy. I particularly liked the unusual insertion of a short Isis-style Post Rock guitar section. This interlude was too short to envelop the listener into eternal darkness but it was interesting and a welcome surprise – maybe there’s something there for the future. The stylistic switch gets turned again with “Between a Rock and her Razor”, a bouncy Indie number. The beat is great and the pithy lyrics cover the subject of emotional conflict and rising above it. To finish there’s another acoustic track “Butterflies and Barflies”. It’s straighter than the other tracks, being a simple mix of an acoustic rhythm and vocal energy.
I saw City of Ashes live recently and liked their enthusiasm and variety. “When Black Fuels Blood” gives a good taste of what the band is like. As they progress, they will need to sort out the musical direction they’re going in, but I hope and expect they will continue to infuse their work with natural energy and interesting ideas. For now, this will do very nicely.
Andrew Doherty
Reply
Metal Team UK -
I wasn’t expecting to see City of Ashes as they weren’t on my listing but here they were. After a promising psychedelic beginning, I started to have doubts as like Surviving Silence they took us into another Hard Rock cycle with indistinct vocals. It all changed after the first song. With the aid of bright, audience-friendly presentation from the lead singer, the band launched into “In the Cold Light of Day”. This one featured a nice acoustic line supported by a heavy underscore and – wonderful – a short solo post-metal section. The direction changed on the next song, which specialized in good acoustic touches and feeling. I was beginning to see that this was a band with ideas and a range of individually crafted songs at its disposal. “Road Less Travelled” took us in an Indie direction. It had a punk feel about it but too much of a melody range for that. “This Letter” was, as our guide from the band put it; “one of those heartfelt songs”. I didn’t enjoy that one so much but at least they weren’t frightened to give everything a go. I was coming to the conclusion that the band’s undoubted technical abilities could take them in any direction they wanted, but in this live setting they were more suited to playing livelier material. Right on cue, they addressed my wishes and finished the set with “Beggars and Thieves” and “Between a Rock and a Razor”. It wasn’t just the energy and life which impressed me. The constant movement up and down, the colourful instrumentals and the combined authority and power of the vocals told me that City of Ashes is a band to be reckoned with. “We’re here to have a good time” announced the vocalist. The fast and catchy riffs and the virtuosity of the rhythms ensured that we did too. Well done, City of Ashes. For me, they were the find of the night.
Reply
ScreamLite Records -
This EP was sent in the post by the band. This included a handwritten letter giving brief information about the band, where they have played and how to get in contact with them. This small package also included a promo photo of the band. This handwritten letter was more personal than an email and shows the band have taken the time to sort something out for us and I’m sure they would do the same for any other promotional material.
This EP goes right for the jugular instantly with “The Art Of Opacity.” After the inventive intro, the tempo starts high and continues with a solid metal drumbeat which is not afraid to deviate from the standard beat pattern with fills and rolls to compliment the heavy guitars and passionate vocals. This track really gets the listener going before running smoothly into a slightly more downbeat number called “In The Cold Light Of Day...” The clean guitar for the verses is crisp and actually clean, whereas some “clean,” guitar sounds can still distort. This guitar keeps a great rhythm while the lead guitar uses tremolo picking and inverted chords to create another layer to the track, as do the vocal overdubs which are used throughout the chorus. The drums are again solid if not overly spectacular, something which is a good thing in this nu metal/punk metal genre. Third track “Between A Rock & Her Razor,” seems to have been turned down in the mixing process as it does take a little bit of concentration to hear it as it should be heard, but the performance is once again top notch, with everyone well drilled at their jobs, so this can just be fixed with a little bit of TLC on the desk. Final track “Butterflies & Barflies,” is another acoustic/clean number with a very folksy rhythm and the stripped vocals. Both guitar and vocals are isolated yet still together in the mix, every note of the guitar is heard without any trouble and every intonation of the voice is audible too while the interplay between the 2 is exquisite.
All in all, a fantastic EP from City Of Ashes. This is a band who like to experiment with their genre, not letting themselves be tied down to one way of playing.
Reply
Hey Guys,
Our EP is finally up for purchase on our Big Cartel page at just £4! So now you can get it, learn the lyrics, sing along, whack it on your ipod's and take it to the disco :)
http://cityofashes.bigcartel.com/
Can't wait to hear from you all. See you on the road this summer.
Much love
COA HQ x
Reply
Hey guys CoA have entered one the UK's biggest unsigned festivals. Its set-up like a Battle of the Bands where you need votes to go forward into the next round, winning this event would be huge for us as the prizes are awesome (Surface Unsigned Wesbsite).
So you can do a few things to support us, if you are local then you can buy a ticket from us at £6 or you can pay £7 on the door. The second option is to do a text vote, you just text:
south 5172
To:
64343
Reply
Hey guys,
Following Friday's show The Dirty Physics were so impressed by you all that they wanted to write personally and thank you. So without me prattling on here's their message:
Dear Brightons + Eastbornights
The Dirty Physics would personaly like to thank all of those who attended The Jam on the 15th. Due to the crowd and the effort put in by City of Ashes there was a great atmosphere and a great sound and it was the highlight of our tour. We'll deffinitly be returning to the area this year just because of the brilliant people we came accross that night so many thanks once again for coming. If anyone would like to give us some feedback from the gig or just wants a chat then please please please contact us through our myspace page.
www.myspace.com/thedirtyphysics
Eddie, Rob & Brad
TheDirtyPhysics
Reply
City of Ashes / Blog
UPDATE - Sunday 10th April 2011
City of Ashes Vs The Mighty Rubix Cube It's 7.15pm on Tuesday 15th of March, Darren and I are in Eastbourne town in a pretty noisy rehearsal room. Darren has had a very unique challenge laid down by the heavy rock band "City of Ashes". The challenge and rules are simple, Darren has to complete the Rubix Cube before City of Ashes can finish playing their new song! Some of you might recall my blog a few weeks ago that mentioned how Darren had started playing with the Rubix Cube. Well more recently he had worked out how to solve it consistently within three and a half to five minutes, however this is only when undisturbed or listening to relaxing tunes. City of Ashes new track is called 'A calm like lethargy' and is about four minutes long, so they decided to challenge Darren to a.... Read More Here http://audiorokit.wordpress.com/2011/03/23/rubix-cube-vs-city-of-ashes/
See the Video : http://www.youtube.com/user/audiorokitTV#p/u/0/Jp9zPuCMVu4
Reply
CD REVIEW - Wednesday 5th January 2011
The Mag - City Of Ashes dive into a blistering rock sound with 'The Art Of Opacity'. It stretches into moments of metal, but with lots of melody to balance the more cacophonous moments.
'In The Cold Light Of Day' is a muted rock ballad with some bonus additional screaming in the later sections.
The record ends with 'Between A Rock And Her Razor', which is almost a skate-punk anthem from the Drive-Thru era.
Review by Michael Beck
Reply
UPDATE - Wednesday 1st December 2010
The City of Ashes Myspace has been redeveloped by LookHappy Designs, they did an awesome job for us. We won't say anymore just check it out and let us know what you think. - http://www.myspace.com/ashesofthecity -
Reply
UPDATE - Monday 27th September 2010
Hey guys,
Firstly, unfortunate news. Our show on the 19th October at Sumo, Leicester has been cancelled by the promoter. This is, of course, out of our hands and a real shame. To everyone in Leicester, our apologies and we hope to see you soon.
Secondly, we are only playing a few more shows this year before locking ourselves away in our rehearsal room to demo some of our new material. We can't wait to unleash on you all. In the mean time chances are limited to get to see us this year so make sure you get to one of the shows coming up!
Thanks so much for all the support and wonderful messages we've been receiving. It means the world to us.
Much love,
COA HQ x
Reply
CD REVIEW - Saturday 31st July 2010
Metal Team UK - City of Ashes started out as an acoustic band two years ago. The acoustic element is evident on this short 4 track EP from the Sussex-based quintet, but there’s plenty more to it than that. There’s no obvious template really. It could be said that the style inclines towards the Rock end of Metal, but rules don’t really apply. The opener “The Art of Opacity” sounds as if Hawkwind are warming up before heading off into a very accessible rock number with an old-fashioned sounding guitar lead and pretensions to Hardcore. The lyrics are unspeakably dark and don’t clear much up – the art of opacity, indeed. Although stylistically each track is different, it’s evident that the band is using its resources and imagination to create a multi-coloured structure and variation in pace while respecting the need for fluidity within a song. The production isn’t always top quality on this EP, as you would expect from a self-release on a limited budget, and the vocal mix in particular needs beefing up in places but the potential is there for something massive. The production is less of a problem on “In the Cold Light of Day…” which is predominantly acoustic. As a song it is classic, the melody is nice and again the lyrics are shadowy. I particularly liked the unusual insertion of a short Isis-style Post Rock guitar section. This interlude was too short to envelop the listener into eternal darkness but it was interesting and a welcome surprise – maybe there’s something there for the future. The stylistic switch gets turned again with “Between a Rock and her Razor”, a bouncy Indie number. The beat is great and the pithy lyrics cover the subject of emotional conflict and rising above it. To finish there’s another acoustic track “Butterflies and Barflies”. It’s straighter than the other tracks, being a simple mix of an acoustic rhythm and vocal energy. I saw City of Ashes live recently and liked their enthusiasm and variety. “When Black Fuels Blood” gives a good taste of what the band is like. As they progress, they will need to sort out the musical direction they’re going in, but I hope and expect they will continue to infuse their work with natural energy and interesting ideas. For now, this will do very nicely.
Andrew Doherty
Reply
PRESS - Thursday 15th August 2010
Metal Team UK - I wasn’t expecting to see City of Ashes as they weren’t on my listing but here they were. After a promising psychedelic beginning, I started to have doubts as like Surviving Silence they took us into another Hard Rock cycle with indistinct vocals. It all changed after the first song. With the aid of bright, audience-friendly presentation from the lead singer, the band launched into “In the Cold Light of Day”. This one featured a nice acoustic line supported by a heavy underscore and – wonderful – a short solo post-metal section. The direction changed on the next song, which specialized in good acoustic touches and feeling. I was beginning to see that this was a band with ideas and a range of individually crafted songs at its disposal. “Road Less Travelled” took us in an Indie direction. It had a punk feel about it but too much of a melody range for that. “This Letter” was, as our guide from the band put it; “one of those heartfelt songs”. I didn’t enjoy that one so much but at least they weren’t frightened to give everything a go. I was coming to the conclusion that the band’s undoubted technical abilities could take them in any direction they wanted, but in this live setting they were more suited to playing livelier material. Right on cue, they addressed my wishes and finished the set with “Beggars and Thieves” and “Between a Rock and a Razor”. It wasn’t just the energy and life which impressed me. The constant movement up and down, the colourful instrumentals and the combined authority and power of the vocals told me that City of Ashes is a band to be reckoned with. “We’re here to have a good time” announced the vocalist. The fast and catchy riffs and the virtuosity of the rhythms ensured that we did too. Well done, City of Ashes. For me, they were the find of the night.
Reply
CD REVIEW - Tuesday 22nd June 2010
ScreamLite Records - This EP was sent in the post by the band. This included a handwritten letter giving brief information about the band, where they have played and how to get in contact with them. This small package also included a promo photo of the band. This handwritten letter was more personal than an email and shows the band have taken the time to sort something out for us and I’m sure they would do the same for any other promotional material. This EP goes right for the jugular instantly with “The Art Of Opacity.” After the inventive intro, the tempo starts high and continues with a solid metal drumbeat which is not afraid to deviate from the standard beat pattern with fills and rolls to compliment the heavy guitars and passionate vocals. This track really gets the listener going before running smoothly into a slightly more downbeat number called “In The Cold Light Of Day...” The clean guitar for the verses is crisp and actually clean, whereas some “clean,” guitar sounds can still distort. This guitar keeps a great rhythm while the lead guitar uses tremolo picking and inverted chords to create another layer to the track, as do the vocal overdubs which are used throughout the chorus. The drums are again solid if not overly spectacular, something which is a good thing in this nu metal/punk metal genre. Third track “Between A Rock & Her Razor,” seems to have been turned down in the mixing process as it does take a little bit of concentration to hear it as it should be heard, but the performance is once again top notch, with everyone well drilled at their jobs, so this can just be fixed with a little bit of TLC on the desk. Final track “Butterflies & Barflies,” is another acoustic/clean number with a very folksy rhythm and the stripped vocals. Both guitar and vocals are isolated yet still together in the mix, every note of the guitar is heard without any trouble and every intonation of the voice is audible too while the interplay between the 2 is exquisite. All in all, a fantastic EP from City Of Ashes. This is a band who like to experiment with their genre, not letting themselves be tied down to one way of playing.
Reply
UPDATE - Sunday 16th May 2010
Hey Guys,
Our EP is finally up for purchase on our Big Cartel page at just £4! So now you can get it, learn the lyrics, sing along, whack it on your ipod's and take it to the disco :)
http://cityofashes.bigcartel.com/
Can't wait to hear from you all. See you on the road this summer.
Much love
COA HQ x
Reply
UPDATE - Thursday 18th February 2010
Hey guys CoA have entered one the UK's biggest unsigned festivals. Its set-up like a Battle of the Bands where you need votes to go forward into the next round, winning this event would be huge for us as the prizes are awesome (Surface Unsigned Wesbsite).
So you can do a few things to support us, if you are local then you can buy a ticket from us at £6 or you can pay £7 on the door. The second option is to do a text vote, you just text: south 5172 To: 64343
Reply
UPDATE - Monday 18th January 2010
Hey guys,
Following Friday's show The Dirty Physics were so impressed by you all that they wanted to write personally and thank you. So without me prattling on here's their message:
Dear Brightons + Eastbornights The Dirty Physics would personaly like to thank all of those who attended The Jam on the 15th. Due to the crowd and the effort put in by City of Ashes there was a great atmosphere and a great sound and it was the highlight of our tour. We'll deffinitly be returning to the area this year just because of the brilliant people we came accross that night so many thanks once again for coming. If anyone would like to give us some feedback from the gig or just wants a chat then please please please contact us through our myspace page. www.myspace.com/thedirtyphysics Eddie, Rob & Brad TheDirtyPhysics
Reply