The Pitchfork-approved style of Post-Black Metal, made popular by bands like Deafheaven and their immensely lauded Sunbather album, never sat well with me. Even when this genre developed and became more “safe” for Black Metal fans to like, I simply could not stomach the overly positive vibes transmitted by its major key abuse. It does not matter that there is a sheen of buzzing tremolos floating above it all, the intent and feel of the music does not lie. Ashbringer sound like they come from this lineage of music, but the material on We Came Here to Grieve features a harsher edge than the scrapbooking album cover entails, mainly carried by the vocals. The music also follows suit as some moments almost seem meant to scare away non-Metal fans, like the 1-minute Grindcore track “Far”, that tries to overwhelm with intensity. “Rift”, meanwhile, takes cues from Liturgy with some stuttering electronics, samples and volume shattering beats. Otherwise, We Came Here to Grieve features a familiar dynamic between cleanly sung sad/uplifting melodic content and harsh-vocals led Black Metal. Ashbringer do these transitions well, because the moments where some of the songs turn on a dime into anger is well felt (as heard in “Gazed”). The songs overall have some compelling writing in themselves and between them as they flow from one to the other.
These high points unfortunately end up being aggravating to hear, as Ashbringer make some choices on this album that are baffling. The first thing that hits is the muffled production, where the drums sound like someone punching cardboard and the cymbals and guitar fight for space, shredding the ears. This can be survived, but when “Pages” arrives with a chorus of some awful out-of-tune clean vocals, knives of cringe-induced shivers are sent down my spine. Adding insult to injury, these vocals are pushed so loud in the mix that it sounds like the clean vocalist (whichever of the guitarists it is) is mumble-shouting in your ear. This song features a well integrated Americana riff and that just makes the disconnect all the more severe. How a band that can write this well over most of an album cannot hear how bad this sounds is a mystery to me. A lot of the material on We Came Here to Grieve feels just one shot away from being truly good, but these choices and some blander ballad-leaning material towards the end steer the train off the tracks. This album is hard to listen to, not to even mention recommending. There is merit to reaching beyond your capabilities: I would rather listen to a band that falls on its face spectacularly than one that plays it safe and is comfortable in being bland. Because of the good writing present, I really want to like Ashbringer despite the fact I despise the music made by most of their peers. Fix up your basics and you will have better luck next time.
