Altered Zones

Spencer Walker of OMG Vinyl says:
I first heard about Ash Borer when I was trolling on death and doom metal forums sometime last year. Back then, they were branded as “black metal.” Don’t get me wrong, these dudes aren’t not playing black metal, but if any band out there transcends the trappings of sub-genre classification, then it would be these guys.

After a few emails back and forth with Kyle of Ash Borer, I received their 2009 Demo tape. Red cassette, black & white j-card, gothic font on the imprint-- pretty standard deal for this scene. Ash Borer had no sample clips out there, no press photos, no YouTube videos. I had literally no idea what would come out of the speakers when I pressed play.

I desperately tried to find something to grasp onto during the ensuing maelstrom-- logic, reason, sanity, gravity, a center, an axis. The way the music effortlessly ascended from a pummeling, blackened vortex into calm, collapsed oblivion was unlike anything I had experienced before. So yeah, I guess it really is “black” metal. Black like the void, black like Nietzsche’s abyss. I gazed into it, and it gazed also into me.

There is no face-paint or sartorial shenanigans, and no defilement of Christian idols or adulation of Occult entities; just fierce and face-melting metal of the highest calibre. A group that makes great strides with every release, their newest self-titled LP is an easy contender for the most passionate and cathartic release of the year.

Ash Borer: "Rest, You Are The Lightning"

Grab a copy of the Ash Borer 12" from Pesanta Urfolk, or get the complete discography up to now on two cassettes from Ash Borer's own Pyschic Violence Records