Sunday 17 February 2019

#35 - Top of 2018

Ashes of Ares - Well of Souls (Rock of Angels Records)


Iced Earth fans rejoice! Well of Souls is the second full length album by Ashes of Ares consisting of ex-Iced Earth members Matt Barlow in vocals and Freddie Vidales in guitar/bass!

They definitely know how to kick off a record as "Consuming the Mana" is a powerful song that perfectly leads to the awesomely melodic "The Alien" showcasing both amazing vocals by Barlow and great drum riffs (by ex-Nevermore Van Williams) which is one of the album's highlights along with "Let All Despair".
"Soul Searcher" is an excellent power ballad that acts as a great mid-album interlude with dreamy guitar riffs. "Sun Dragon"
and "Trascending" are two additional examples of how power metal songs should sound combining excellent heavy guitars and (both harsh and clear) melodic vocals. "In The Darkness" is a more clear-cut song while "Spirit of Man" adds some progressive-like riffs & turns taking a different direction.
"Time Traveller" has an amazingly catchy chorus for live-show singalongs and more quick-paced tunes adding a more epic tone to the album which ends with the weird but interesting choice to cover Chris Cornell's "You Know My Name" song. The record is definitely reminiscent of classic Iced Earth and is worth checking out to listen how Matt's musicianship and songwriting has evolved in his new venture!




92.5/100

Below are the official music videos for "The Alien" and "Let All Despair".


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