Band:	Blindead
Album:	Ascension
Style:	Post-metal, Progressive metal
Release date:	October 21, 2016
Guest review by:	Boris_Pembroke

01. Hearts
02. Hunt
03. Horns
04. Wastelands
05. Pale
06. Fall
07. Gone
08. Ascend
09. Hope

After a 3-year break, the enigmatic Polish prog-sludge band are back with another emotionally captivating and atmospheric release. Blindead have without a doubt evolved from album to album. First coming to prominence in the metal scene back in 2010 with their atmospheric sludge masterpiece, Affliction XXIX II MXMVI, they've since followed a similar musical path as several other artists in their genre, including The Ocean and Mastodon: that is, their early, more raw-sounding sludge has developed into a cleaner, more progressive sound. Nevertheless, they have maintained their core sound with their latest release, Ascension, once again effectively transforming inner mental turmoil into musical form.

A common element throughout the album is atmosphere, something established right from the start with the 3-minute build-up of synths and tribal-sounding drums in the intro of "Hearts". The tracks are overall more varied musically than Absence back in 2013, ranging from the fast-paced progressive metal of "Hunt" to the slower moody prog rock of "Gone" and "Wastelands".

Ascension continues the trend of their previous two albums, with less distorted and more clean guitars, in addition experimenting with various atmospheric synths to mostly good effect. Recently-joined vocalist Piotr Pieza makes his first appearance here, bringing a grunge-like delivery to the table. His integration into the band is fairly seamless, with there being no remarkable deviation in style from previous vocalist Patryk Zwoliński.

The (almost) title track "Ascend" combines everything which makes the album so emotionally captivating, from the eerie atmospheric keyboard intro to the raw anguish in the heavy climax of the song. What results is one of the greatest songs of the band's career, and what would have a made for a more fitting closer than the comparatively weak, acoustic "Hope".

As an album Ascension doesn't flow from song to song as flawlessly as Affliction does, and is somewhat less layered and complex. However, it is nonetheless a stellar achievement in songwriting and production that could not be mistaken for any other band, a sometimes rare feat in music nowadays, and is unmistakably one of the top metal albums of 2016.