Nth Ascension - Frequencies Of Day And Night

Last Updated on Friday, 28 October 2011 22:19 Written by Ken Foster

Newcomers on the prog scene Nth Ascension's debut album Frequencies of Day and Night is a fascinating blend of epic orchestral soundscapes and guitar based classic rock. The former style typical of the album's instrumental opener 'The Prize' which builds a moody prologue. 'Out of the fire' is a more straightforward rocker which suffers from a rather poor mix but does have a stunning guitar solo as its climax. The vocals are a little raw and jagged in places.

The band are at their best and most confident on tracks like 'Running To Nowhere' where fast paced harmonies between keyboards and guitar work really well. The album has a couple of extended pieces with 'Sound To Light' coming in at over 13 minutes being undoubtedly one of the highlights of this collection. There are even shades of Rush, Floyd and Tangerine Dream as the track reaches it's peak. Quantization has been shunned in favour of a live feel and that's kind of refreshing these days with Taylor's Schulman-like vocals working to good effect on this particular track. On 'Return of the King', the band arrive at the point promised by the earlier tracks which by contrast serve as a taster to a glorious three minutes which left me ironically wishing this was the longer piece.

The album culminates with the 16:40 'The Cage', a departure (initially at least) into more predictable prog metal territory. After around 4:30 the track takes on an altogether more mellow feel before reverting back to a heavier riff. There are snatches of keyboard runs which I hoped would go on for longer as the band seem comfortable in soloing mode. The closing section to the piece promises much but is ultimately plodding. The untitled bonus track returns to Kraftwerk territory which to this listener is a more rewarding journey. So a fairly mixed bag. I get the feeling of a band unsure of its own direction but there is definitely much promise here.

CD is available at gigs - Website here