From the looks of the dark cover art and the somber title, I could only make assumptions about the CD I was about to review.
Ashes Divide will make a stop in central Pennsylvania at the end of September.
Released in April, "Keep Telling Myself It's Alright" is Ashes Divide's first full-length album.
The name of the band alone was enough to grasp a feel for the kind of music I would be exposed to. But once I listened to the album in its entirety, I was confronted by the fact that looks, most certainly, can be deceiving.
Wholeheartedly expecting the newly accepted hard-core genre, I was surprised — and honestly, slightly disappointed — to discover I would be consumed in an alternative-rock band. All preconceptions aside, I decided to give Ashes Divide's release, "Keep Telling Myself It's Alright," a fair chance.
The five-man band — Billy Howerdel, producer, vocalist and guitarist; drummer Jeff Friedl; bassist and side vocalist Matt McJunkins; guitarist and side vocalist Andy Gerold; and keyboard player and side vocalist Adam Monroe — was discovered quickly by rock fans, perhaps because Howerdel had also produced and was a part of the more popularly known band A Perfect Circle.
Released in April, "Keep Telling Myself It's Alright" is Ashes Divide's first full-length album. The band delivered its first single, "The Stone," before the CD hit the shelves, and it became a huge hit, premiering on radio stations throughout the United States.
I enjoyed that specific song and a few others, such as "Denial Waits" and "Forever Can Be," on the 11-song album, but personally speaking, those were the only songs that stuck out to me in quality. I had a hard time understanding lyrics in other songs and found it difficult to fully enjoy the album at all.
Nonetheless, once I looked up the lyrics to find out what was being fed through my speakers, what I discovered were emotional and purely felt outlooks from the band, which are credible. Anyone who can express themselves through musical notions has talent, no matter what genre of music is being expressed.
Although Ashes Divide wasn't my forte, if you are a fan of alternative-rock music, it may be a totally different story; don't allow lack of interest on my part to stop your curiosity from lingering.
Currently touring with Seether, Ashes Divide will play at Crocodile Rock Café, Allentown, on Sept. 30.
Even though the album didn't make a good impression, it doesn't change the fact that there were three redeemable songs. Being the band's first album, there is still room for improvement, which will be looked for in future releases.
Don't let Ashes Divide's first album deceive the band's evident potential.
FYI
WHAT: Ashes Divide, "Keep Telling Myself It's Alright"
COST: $13.95
PURCHASE: www.ashesdivide.comSEE THEM LIVE: Tuesday, Sept. 30, at Crocodile Rock Cafe, Allentown
NOW PLAYING
• Chameleon Club, 223 N. Water St., Lancaster:
7 p.m. Tuesday: Candlebox; $18 in advance, $20 day of show; must be 18 to enter
5:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 4: Hatebreed, with Emmure, Soilent Green, War of Ages and Catalepsy; $16 in advance, $18 day of show
7 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 7: Indigenous; $12
7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 13: Reggie & The Full Effect with MC Chris, Leathermouth and Warship; $13 in advance, $15 day of show; all ages
7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 16: Built to Spill with Meat Puppets; $20; 18 to enter
6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 18: Beneath the Sky with Shot to Pieces, From Their Eyes and Combat the Panda; $10 in advance, $12 day of show; all ages
6 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 23: Horse the Band with Heavy Heavy Low Low and So Many Dynamos; $10 in advance, $12 day of show; all ages
7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 26: They Might Be Giants; $20; 14 to enter
6 p.m. Monday, Sept. 29: Fear Before the March of Flames with Damiera and I Am The Ocean; $20 in advance, $25 day of show; all ages
6 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 30: World Inferno Friendship Society; $10 in advance, $12 day of show; all ages
• Champion Ship, Lemoyne; all shows are all ages:
6 p.m. Friday: August Burns Red, with A Skylit Drive, Sky Eats Airplane, Greeley Estates, This or the Apocalypse and A Late Night Serenade; $12 in advance, $14 day of show
7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 6: The First Step, with Get the Most, Mindset, Hostage Calm, Breakthrough and Warpriest; $10
6:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 12: Death Threat, with Wisdom in Chains, Bracewar, Crown of Kings, Mother of Mercy and Brick; $10
6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 13: Emarosa, with Burden of a Day, In Fear and Faith, Attack Attack!, The Years Gone By, Kyrie and Darling Overboard; $10 in advance, $12 day of show
6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 19: Punchline, with Safari So Good, Hit or Miss and more; $7 in advance, $8 day of show
6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 23: Mock Orange, with Miniature Tigers, Espenshade, Gulls and more; $8
6 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 24: Whitechapel, with Through the Eyes of the Dead, Impending Doom and A Different Breed of Killer; $12 in advance, $14 day of show
6:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 26: Dollface, with Kinsey and House Exit; $7
• The Coffee Co., 1638 Lititz Pike, Lancaster; all shows 7 to 9 p.m., including:
Tonight: Leanne Spurlin — acoustic rock
Friday: Acoustic Nostalgia Jack French & Todd Borkey — soft acoustic rock from the '60s to today
Saturday: The Back Porch Gang — country and bluegrass
• Crocodile Rock Cafe, Allentown
5:30 p.m. today: The Anix, with Kelsey and the Chaos, $10; 6 p.m.: Sarai, $13
5:30 p.m. Friday: Recon, with Stray the Path, Soldiers and Entrails of a, Sillman Father, Dissian, as Life Ends, A Thirst for Failure, $10; 7:30 p.m.: Candlebox, $18 in advance, $20 day of show
6 p.m. Saturday: "The Ol Man's Birthday Bash," with Old Scool, Trust, Hierosonic, Half Lip, Kinetic Blu, The Rooftops, Underwhelmed, Of Broken, Prop Joe, KNS, nowhere, Gangsta Gook, Letters for Lovers, Dynamite, Artists over Industry, American Halo, Knotz and d.f.m. (drugfreemondays); $10
9 p.m. Sunday: The Young Adult Summertime Jump Off; $10 in advance, $15 day of show, $25 VIP in advance, $35 VIP day of show
5:30 p.m. Monday: For Today and Dr. Acula; $10
5:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 4: Stonerider on the mainstage, $10 in advance, $12 day of show; Liferuiner, A Well Thought Tragedy and more, $10; 7 p.m.: Jackson Waters, $13 in advance, $15 day of show
6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 6: Gorgeous Frankenstein with Cryptkeeper Five, $12 in advance, $15 day of show; 7 p.m: Motion City Soundtrack with Margot and So & So's, Dear and the Headlights; $16 in advance, $18 day of show
7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 12: Beneath the Sky, with Dead to the World, Forever my Nightmare and Misfittoyz; $12 in advance, $14 day of show
5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 13: PolkaDot Cadaver and Nicholas Megalis; $10 in advance, $12 day of show
6 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 14: Valencia,with Sing it Loud, Single File and Cash Cash; $8 in advance, $10 day of show
• Toyota Pavilion at Montage Mountain, Scranton:
6:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 12: 3 Doors Down; $19 to $59
Kierstie Martin is a senior at Ephrata High School and a staff writer for the school's newspaper, Mountaineer. E-mail her at YourLife@LNPnews.com.
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