Ashen Mortality
Encyclopedia
Ashen Mortality were a British
doom metal
band that was formed in early 1993 by Ian Arkley
(Seventh Angel
) and Melanie Bolton. They and Paramaecium
are the best known Christian Doom metal bands, though they were always wary of being typecast as such. They recorded two demo
s, and two album
s, and played many gig
s in England
, the Netherlands
and Germany
. Featuring clean and growled male vocals, and female vocals, their music was heavy, slow to mid-paced, and influenced by medieval music
, doom, death and goth
. The band split up in 2005, when Arkley
went on to form My Silent Wake
.
, England, from 9–11 October 1993, and engineered by Andy Wickett. The band's first gig was with Rez, during November 1993 in Salford, England. During 1994, Ashen Mortality played many gigs around the United Kingdom, including a show at the Brixton Academy, London
, on May 14.
The second demo was recorded between 16–18 July 1994 at Attic Studios, shortly after which, Jones left the band. On August 24, Ashen Mortality played at the Greenbelt festival
with stand-in drummer, Neal Harris. Harris also played with the band during the tour of Holland and Germany from 2–29 September.
Three tracks from the second demo, "Separation", "Sleepless Remorse" and "Imprisoned", were remixed, and four new songs recorded in 1995 to form Sleepless Remorse, the band's first album. Harris played drums on the new tracks, although Jones can be heard on the remixed demo songs. The album was recorded at Attic Studios (now closed), and was produced for a mere £400.
Sleepless Remorse was released in 1996 on Forsaken Records, set up by Bolton. Neil Shilvock joined the band on drums. Ashen Mortality played many gigs in England during the year, playing with bands including: At the Gates
, Serenade
, Acrimony
and Hecate Enthroned
.
After a mini-tour to support the release of Sleepless Remorse in 1997, Shilvock left the band, and George Aytoun stepped in to help out. Ashen Mortality played at the Greenbelt festival over the August bank holiday weekend.
Aytoun officially joined the band in 1998, and recorded Your Caress. The album was recorded in two days, and mixed in one by Dan Sprigg at Dep International. The band used the same engineer and studio as Cradle of Filth. Shortly after this recording the band relocated to Weston-super-Mare.
The band started to play local gigs again in 1999, and the official website was constructed by Aytoun, and launched over the summer. Ashen Mortality appeared at the Greenbelt festival at the beginning of August. The band obtained worldwide distribution for Your Caress through Plastic Head.
With the exception of a few local gigs, there was little band activity in 2000. Plans to record a third album faded away.
After several years of inactivity, the band re-emerged in 2004. Having recruited a new drummer and bassist, they began rehearsing again, and played 2 live gigs. Due to illness, Cooper was unavailable for the band's final appearances in Norway
and the United Kingdom
. The last performances featured Andi Lee on bass guitar and Jasen Whyte on drums.
A double CD reissue of the two albums, remastered with extra tracks, was released in 2005. The band finally split up, with the original band members going their separate ways. Ian subsequently formed My Silent Wake with ex-Ashen Mortality musicians Andi Lee and Jason Whyte, Century Sleeper with James Allin of Visionaire, and played in The Other Window with Alan Southorn. A few years later, Ian also reformed Seventh Angel.
In August 2006, Tim Cooper died of leukemia
.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
doom metal
Doom metal
Doom metal is an extreme form of heavy metal music that typically uses slower tempos, low-tuned guitars and a much "thicker" or "heavier" sound than other metal genres...
band that was formed in early 1993 by Ian Arkley
Ian Arkley
Ian Arkley is a guitarist in the death/doom/gothic metal genre, his current band is the UK gothic doom metal outfit My Silent Wake.Arkley first gained attention as a member of seminal Christian thrash metal band Seventh Angel...
(Seventh Angel
Seventh Angel
Seventh Angel are a British Christian heavy metal band that formed in 1987. According to Cross Rhythms magazine, they were considered to be thrash metal pioneers, and they released the albums The Torment and Lament for the Weary...
) and Melanie Bolton. They and Paramaecium
Paramaecium
Paramaecium was an Australian death/doom metal band formed in 1991. There is use of instrumentation like flutes, cellos and violins on some albums. Paramaecium is one of the few doom metal bands that focus on Christian lyrical themes and Christian concepts...
are the best known Christian Doom metal bands, though they were always wary of being typecast as such. They recorded two demo
Demo (music)
A demo version or demo of a song is one recorded for reference rather than for release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas on tape or disc, and provide an example of those ideas to record labels, producers or other artists...
s, and two album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
s, and played many gig
Gig (musical performance)
Gig is slang for a musical engagement in which musicians are hired. Originally coined in the 1920s by jazz musicians, the term, short for the word "engagement", now refers to any aspect of performing such as assisting with performance and attending musical performance...
s in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. Featuring clean and growled male vocals, and female vocals, their music was heavy, slow to mid-paced, and influenced by medieval music
Medieval music
Medieval music is Western music written during the Middle Ages. This era begins with the fall of the Roman Empire and ends sometime in the early fifteenth century...
, doom, death and goth
Gothic rock
Gothic rock is a musical subgenre of post-punk and alternative rock that formed during the late 1970s. Gothic rock bands grew from the strong ties they had to the English punk rock and emerging post-punk scenes...
. The band split up in 2005, when Arkley
Ian Arkley
Ian Arkley is a guitarist in the death/doom/gothic metal genre, his current band is the UK gothic doom metal outfit My Silent Wake.Arkley first gained attention as a member of seminal Christian thrash metal band Seventh Angel...
went on to form My Silent Wake
My Silent Wake
My Silent Wake are a British gothic death/doom metal band who were formed from the ashes of Ashen Mortality. Ashen Mortality were formed in the early 90s in Halesowen, West Midlands and were active for a further 11 years. When the band split in 2005, three of the members went on to form MSW. The...
.
Biography
The first demo tape, Ashen Mortality, was recorded at The Wall, BirminghamBirmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, England, from 9–11 October 1993, and engineered by Andy Wickett. The band's first gig was with Rez, during November 1993 in Salford, England. During 1994, Ashen Mortality played many gigs around the United Kingdom, including a show at the Brixton Academy, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, on May 14.
The second demo was recorded between 16–18 July 1994 at Attic Studios, shortly after which, Jones left the band. On August 24, Ashen Mortality played at the Greenbelt festival
Greenbelt festival
Greenbelt Festival is a festival of arts, faith and justice held annually in England since 1974. Greenbelt has grown from a Christian music festival with an audience of 1,500 young Christians to its current more secular festival attended by around 20,000 - Christians and non-Christians.The festival...
with stand-in drummer, Neal Harris. Harris also played with the band during the tour of Holland and Germany from 2–29 September.
Three tracks from the second demo, "Separation", "Sleepless Remorse" and "Imprisoned", were remixed, and four new songs recorded in 1995 to form Sleepless Remorse, the band's first album. Harris played drums on the new tracks, although Jones can be heard on the remixed demo songs. The album was recorded at Attic Studios (now closed), and was produced for a mere £400.
Sleepless Remorse was released in 1996 on Forsaken Records, set up by Bolton. Neil Shilvock joined the band on drums. Ashen Mortality played many gigs in England during the year, playing with bands including: At the Gates
At the Gates
At the Gates is an extreme metal band from Gothenburg, Sweden, and a major progenitor of the Gothenburg death-metal sound. Their early albums lean towards a death metal sound, but later albums sound more like melodic death metal.Initially active from 1990 to 1996, the band reformed in 2007 for a...
, Serenade
Serenade
In music, a serenade is a musical composition, and/or performance, in someone's honor. Serenades are typically calm, light music.The word Serenade is derived from the Italian word sereno, which means calm....
, Acrimony
Acrimony
Acrimony was a British stoner metal band who were active during the 1990s. Releasing their debut album in 1994, they are regarded as the pioneers of stoner metal in the United Kingdom, and an important influence upon the scene...
and Hecate Enthroned
Hecate Enthroned
Hecate Enthroned are a symphonic black metal band from Cheshire, England.-Biography :The band formed in 1993 under the name Daemonum by singer Jon and guitarist Nigel, as a black/death metal hybrid. After a few practices and recording a demo, vocalist Jon left the band after taking up an offer to...
.
After a mini-tour to support the release of Sleepless Remorse in 1997, Shilvock left the band, and George Aytoun stepped in to help out. Ashen Mortality played at the Greenbelt festival over the August bank holiday weekend.
Aytoun officially joined the band in 1998, and recorded Your Caress. The album was recorded in two days, and mixed in one by Dan Sprigg at Dep International. The band used the same engineer and studio as Cradle of Filth. Shortly after this recording the band relocated to Weston-super-Mare.
The band started to play local gigs again in 1999, and the official website was constructed by Aytoun, and launched over the summer. Ashen Mortality appeared at the Greenbelt festival at the beginning of August. The band obtained worldwide distribution for Your Caress through Plastic Head.
With the exception of a few local gigs, there was little band activity in 2000. Plans to record a third album faded away.
After several years of inactivity, the band re-emerged in 2004. Having recruited a new drummer and bassist, they began rehearsing again, and played 2 live gigs. Due to illness, Cooper was unavailable for the band's final appearances in Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
and the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. The last performances featured Andi Lee on bass guitar and Jasen Whyte on drums.
A double CD reissue of the two albums, remastered with extra tracks, was released in 2005. The band finally split up, with the original band members going their separate ways. Ian subsequently formed My Silent Wake with ex-Ashen Mortality musicians Andi Lee and Jason Whyte, Century Sleeper with James Allin of Visionaire, and played in The Other Window with Alan Southorn. A few years later, Ian also reformed Seventh Angel.
In August 2006, Tim Cooper died of leukemia
Leukemia
Leukemia or leukaemia is a type of cancer of the blood or bone marrow characterized by an abnormal increase of immature white blood cells called "blasts". Leukemia is a broad term covering a spectrum of diseases...
.
Members
- Ian ArkleyIan ArkleyIan Arkley is a guitarist in the death/doom/gothic metal genre, his current band is the UK gothic doom metal outfit My Silent Wake.Arkley first gained attention as a member of seminal Christian thrash metal band Seventh Angel...
- guitarGuitaristA guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
and vocals - Melanie Bolton - vocals and keyboardKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
- Tim Cooper - bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
ist - Ben Jones - drumsDrummerA drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
- Neil Shilvock - drums
- George Aytoun - drums
- Jasen Whyte - drums
- Andi Lee - bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....