The Blinding Light The Ascension Attempt

In the music world, the amazing ‘follow-up’ full-length is one of the harder feats to pull off. And with the well-received “Glass Bullet” EP tucked under their belts, The Blinding Light had it even tougher. But wouldn’t you know it, they pulled it off. And they did a damn good job of it. I’ll admit that while I was pretty psyched to hear “The Ascension Attempt,” I wasn’t expecting a total masterpiece. I was expecting something really good, even great. As a result, I was disappointed with my initial listen when it didn’t floor me immediately. Granted, “The Ascension Attempt” is an album that anyone who listens to metal or metalcore should probably own, it’s just not an album that is going to strangle you with brutality. Not at first, anyway. The opening track “Wake Up / The Wind Up” is, in my opinion, the best this album has to offer. Almost every track is a stand-out, but this one takes the cake. The killer thrash guitar riffs, breakdowns, thic acoustic guitar interludes, monster drumming, and all-encompassing bass are almost too much to handle. Top this with Brian Lovro’s Tom Araya-like delivery, and you get a song that is meant to crush and pulverize. Despite the fact that this is a great opener, I this would have made an equally excellent ending song as well. Either way, it’s deadly. Other notable tracks include “Routine Seizure,” a playful and devastating ‘crunch-crunch-screech’ attack, and the beautifully sludgy and haunting “Hydrant.” In addition, Lovro’s sparse but memorable lyrics to both these tracks only make them that much better. As for every other track, they’re all top-notch, too. I could describe them all in detail, but the point here is that “The Ascension Attempt” is a fantastic album. It’s long enough to make it worth the money, and short enough to keep your attention. All in all, a great second effort and a great CD. Bottom Line: If you haven’t already bought this and absorbed it, prepare to listen to some fucking heavy and powerful metalcore. The Blinding Light don’t fool around when it comes to making music, and this is 100% evident after listening to this full-length. If you like heavy music, you’ll like “The Ascension Attempt.” Period.