Wrekmeister Harmonies has, for me at least, always been one of the most interesting bands in the world. Project mastermind J.R. Robinson has a totally unique vision, and listening to this sprawl out over two tracks, which run for a total of just under forty nine minutes, is a rare treat. With sixteen (!) guests in bands ranging from Indian and The Body to Anatomy of Habit and Cave, Night Of Your Ascension captures the imagination and guides you on a profoundly different path – certainly not one to be taken lightly. By the end, you find yourself asking the big questions and looking out for a brave new day. This is an album that forces you to question your reality and perhaps embrace strange new paradigms – it's simply that good.
I think that a huge part of what makes Night Of Your Ascension so fascinating to me is the raw eeriness of it. The dirge like opening of the album sets you up to embrace something truly demented. You get the sense that pushing musical boundaries comes naturally to Mr. Robinson – if he wasn't apparently born into it then this record wouldn't be nearly as good. The mind melting madness is a huge part of what makes these soundscapes so unique, Robinson pushes his sound to the point that often you don't even know what instrument is being used. That being said – it's easy to fall in love with the weirdness. As bizarre as it may seem, the inherent strangeness of the sound is incredibly infectious.
Beyond this – the looming sense of dread and the doomed realities painted by this record only help to add to the majesty. It's hard not to become enamored with the drawn out instrumental passages and the avant-garde instrumentations. As 'out there' as the music of Wrekmeister Harmonies might be, the deeper you delve the more you find that it reflects the human condition. There is a very divine poetry to what J.R. Robinson is doing here – he's tearing apart your mind and forces you to look within and acknowledge the lurking terror that resides beneath. In a world where we often end up jaded and bitter, Night Of Your Ascension forces you to confront your own humanity.
What I'm trying to say is that Wrekmeister Harmonies uses Night Of Your Ascension not just as an artistic statement, but also a piece of art that can bring the listener up along with it. Turning off the lights and listening to this record alone leads to personal growth – in other words it literally can lead to YOUR personal ascension. As romantic as that might sound, Wrekmeister Harmonies have crafted an album that is akin to a religious experience, and I'm not just saying that because of the epic chants and grandiose compositions. Incredibly personal and easy to fall in love with, Night Of Your Ascension is a wonderfully multi-layered composition, and as we pull back each individual layer it becomes easier and easier to drop out of this reality and fall into one that can guide us out of this world of hate. Night Of Your Ascension is the soundtrack to your transcendent escape.
8.5/10
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