Ash's debut full-length, "1977", has SoundScanned 45,000 since its 1996 release. "Free All Angels" followed in 2001 and has sold 47,000 units to date. "Meltdown" has been certified Gold in the UK and is now available domes... more »tically. Initial shipments include a bonus limited edition DVD disc with a five videos, a making-of video, and a mini documentary.« less
Ash's debut full-length, "1977", has SoundScanned 45,000 since its 1996 release. "Free All Angels" followed in 2001 and has sold 47,000 units to date. "Meltdown" has been certified Gold in the UK and is now available domestically. Initial shipments include a bonus limited edition DVD disc with a five videos, a making-of video, and a mini documentary.
"Meltdown was supposed to be released here in the US months and months ago. But Ash's record label went into bankruptcy just as it was about to drop, and so the record never saw the light of day until now.
It was only a couple of years ago during the release of Free All Angels that Ash were being touted as candidates for breakout US success, but that time has come and gone. Meltdown isn't anywhere near as pop-friendly as that record. In fact, it's a metal record. And one of the better metal records of the past few years.
And when I say "metal," I'm not talking about six-minute dirges sung by 17 year-olds trying to sound like 52-year-olds. If you're looking for that, go by a Slipknot album and bang your head against a desk. For those of us that grew up in the 80's, the magical decade that provides VH1 its only source of revenue, standard metal revolved around riffage, riffage, and more riffage. And so it is with Meltdown, an 11-song battering ram of chunky guitar goodness. The riffs on "Clones" and the title track can pretty much lay waste to any set of eardrums, while "Evil Eye" and "Vampire Love" bring back 80's style goth (think Ozzy's Bark at the Moon), which was always wayyyyy more fun than 90's style goth (think being forced to take a poetry class at RISD).
But the centerpiece of Meltdown remains "Orpheus", a song that masterfully blends Ash's pop knowhow with their thunderous guitar attack. The bridge alone has a Chill Factor of about 12. It was by far the best song of 2004, and now it's available to you without the hefty import price tag. Lucky you.
With Meltdown, Ash continue their streak as one of Briitain's most versatile and hard-rocking outfits. They may never reach soaring heights here in the US. But they remain a hidden rock treasure for anyone willing to look hard enough. At least now you can look for Meltdown without crossing the Atlantic."
This Is The Best Album Nobodys Ever Heard Of
D. Smith | York, PA | 02/11/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"It's such a shame that the best album released last year had absolutely no airplay. every song on this album is amazing and the album as a whole is very upbeat and fast except for the very few slow songs which are written well too. unbelieveable and a must own."
Cool
alexander laurence | Los Angeles, CA | 03/25/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Ash has been one of the most successful bands from Belfast. They have always been more of a band influenced by Nirvana and Foo Fighters than UK music. That hasn't prevented them from having hit singles and performing on Top Of The Pops with Kylie Minogue and S Club 7. Since their international success with Free All Angels, Ash has played in America quite a lot. I saw them play a few times in NYC. Once I saw them open for the emo punk band, Saves The Day. The white teenage audience seemed uninterested, but they couldn't deny the brilliance of "Burn Baby Burn." Ash recorded this album in California and was influenced by their time in the USA. "Meltdown" and "Evil Eye" are heavy rock songs. Their song "Clones" is being used on the Star Wars video game. Most of this album seems obsessed with explosions, energy and power. Ash has become a high-powered rock and roll machine. They can do no wrong. This is the truth. They are touring now with The Bravery, which is a good choice, and more suited to them, rather than some dodgy bands they have played with in the past."
In prime LOUD POWERPOP Cheap Trick/Wildhearts territory!!
Larry Davis | NYC/Long Island, NY, USA | 03/16/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"All I say is YOWZA!!!! After hearing all this corporate 3 Doors Down shlock on the radio and making me sick in the process, I started getting all depressed...until I heard this new record by one of my alltime fave bands, Northern Ireland's ASH!!! I thought, NOW THIS IS MORE LIKE IT!! Tunes up the wazoo, loud powerpop crunch, golden boy/girl harmonies to die for, and a relentless rhythm section that force your foot to press the pedal to the floor and never let it up. If you love true rocking tunes in the vein of Cheap Trick or the Wildhearts, this record will be your instant tonic for these winter blues.
Now, I've loved this band all along, since their early catchy punkish singles like "Jack Names The Planets", "Kung Fu", "Girl From Mars", "Oh Yeah" and more. I've loved the way Ash has evolved over the years, Tim Wheeler becoming an amazing songwriter in the process. Adding my dreamgirl Charlotte Hatherley on 2nd guitar and golden harmonies was a genius move, although their darker 3rd album was a necessary move, to get the asteroids out of Tim's way (some good tunes too like "Jesus Says")...it had a difficult birth but had to be done, because...
Afterwards, Ash released the effortless and masterful "Free All Angels", which was their bridging of their punky past and loud powerpop ROCK future. The tunes like the bright cracker "Burn Baby Burn" and gorgeous "Shining Light" + "There's A Star" are sheer GENIUS!! "Shining Light" even won a prestigious Ivor Novello award in songwriting!!
Then Ash released a singles/B-sides collection called "Intergalactic Sonic 7"'s" with the 2002 single "Envy" as a way to close this chapter 1 in the Ash story.
Well well well, Chapter 2 begins with the AMAZING "Meltdown", the finest work yet in Ash's recorded canon. Song after song is just a HUGE rush, and not just the 4 singles!! Yes, it was released in the US a year late, but maybe this is a blessing in disguise?? It seems in America, timing is everything...look at Maroon 5 for instance...it took a year + a half for their disc to hit it big, and now, their are 4 or 5 hits off of that thing, sheesh!! Now, it seems the US media are ready to embrace Ash, as their "Meltdown" was recorded in the US and has a big American influence in it's sound, without sacrificing Tim's gift for melody, insane hooks and guitar crunch. This might sound weird, but Kelly Clarkson's current top 10 hit "Since U Been Gone" has a similar sound and it sounds killer on the radio, and so will Ash. I can hear "Orpheus" being embraced and blaring loudly on car radios, and "Starcrossed" is a sweet hit waiting to happen. That tune is like a better Beatles/Badfinger-influenced song than Jet's "Look What You Done", and that song was accepted. Now, imagine their reaction when "Starcrossed" is accepted?? Sheesh!! Don't say I didn't warn you!! Sure, "Clones" is heavy, but still melodic, and "Renegade Cavalcade' sounds like another hit as well. The other 7 cuts are just as killer, espesh the title track "Meltdown", the insanely catchy "Evil Eye" with a hook that will stay with you for days, but in a happy way, and my fave "Won't Be Saved" with it's gorgeous melody and harmonies by Tim and Chaz.
The US edition has 3 killer bonus tracks, 1 being a B-side and the other 2 being new songs I believe..."Cool It Down" is very Beach Boys/Brian Wilson-ish, and the DVD alone is worth getting this US edition, as it has all 4 videoclips from "Meltdown", the classic clip "Girl From Mars", a mini-documentary/presskit for "Meltdown" and the making of the "Orpheus" clip, with its demolition derby race in the south of Spain in the area Sergio Leone shot his classic Spaghetti Westerns like "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly".
So yeah, if people ask you who is your favourite Irish band, please don't say the overrated U2, say Ash, and with "Meltdown", the boys (and girl) not only made their best album yet, they made a real rush of a disc and one that might ACTUALLY garner some honest-to-gosh American HITS, sales and success after years of obscurity, and in their case, that would actually be cool BECAUSE it's a great record, period!!"
MUSE?? Please. This is Ash's best album yet...pure punky m
Larry Davis | NYC/Long Island, NY | 09/26/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Tim Wheeler is possibly the best powerpop songwriter right now. Bar none. Too bad this album was caught in the crossfire in the US between their prior US label Kinetic collapsing, delaying it for months and months, and the momentum gone and changing tastes amongst popular tastes here and the media.
What will probably happen is their NEW US label, Warner's Record Collection, will put it out just so it's out, have the band go on a small tour, and when they do their NEW album, which is being recorded now in NYC, might be a DOUBLE album of 27 tunes BTW, RC will put $$$ into promoting that one properly, with no delays, top priority.
Now, they are back to being a 3-piece, circa "1977", with Charlotte gone, preferring to focus on her solo career. This final Charlotte album is top-to-bottom great, with no dud tracks, catchy chunky loud powerpop riffage, hooks to die for, energy to burn for years, and just killer songs with not an ounce of pretentiousness.
All the singles are great here, espesh the tour-de-force "Orpheus", the gorgeous "Starcrossed" (like "There's A Star" part deux), and the unbelievable "Renegade Cavalcade". "Clones" is their hardest track yet, and yes it burns but brightly, with killer riffs and an even better chorus and Tim's scream in the middle is way cool and not out of place.
Fave overlooked tune here is "Won't Be Saved", a hidden powerpop gem, with an ace melody and creamy harmonies. The bonus B-side tracks are great and the bonus DVD is good value.
Basically, they are amongst the best bands out now that have been around a decade at least, and have not broken huge in the US. This next album could be their time though. Discover a gem of a band if you haven't yet. The best Irish band out now, and yes, that includes U2."
Track Listings (14) - Disc #1
