Following their recent signing to Prosthetic Records last month, THE EMBER, THE ASH has today released the second single and title track from upcoming album, Fixation. The solo project from a musical polymath known only as 鬼, THE EMBER, THE ASH straddles the gulf between textured metalcore and symphonic black metal – whilst offering recognisable glimpses into emotional turmoil. THE EMBER, THE ASH‘s sophomore album, Fixation, will be released via Prosthetic Records on May 14.
Speaking on the single release, 鬼 comments: “Fixation is a short anecdote about sowing a seed of hatred towards the self and towards society, as well as the mental anguish of realizing one’s neurotic obsession with their own demise; the formation of the seemingly endless struggle of chaos and despair, and the awareness that they have become utterly bankrupt of life. Sonically, is one of the most relentless and oppressive tracks on the record.”
Distinct from their work as Unreqvited, Fixation follows on from THE EMBER, THE ASH’s 2019 highly acclaimed release, Consciousness Torn From The Void. Fixation is a unique blend of ice cold precision and a swirl of enveloping audio textures. The seven tracks that make up the album were written in 2019/20 before being entirely self-recorded and mixed in their home studio; mastering was handled by Nekkomix.
With a theme that picks through the debris of mental illness, 鬼 drew upon their own experiences of witnessing a loved one suffer through a traumatic episode. Exploring their own reaction to the fraught timeline of events, 鬼 channels their emotional response into the lyrics and music that make up Fixation. Suicidal ideation and spiraling thought patterns loom large over the album that is steeped in sombre atmosphere throughout. The distress of both witnessing and harboring such dark thoughts are at the core of the record’s aggressive sound as well as its lyrical content.
Fixation will be released via Prosthetic Records on May 14.