My first run-in with Scatter The Ashes came via the Hard To Get Volume One compilation, put out by Island Records. It contained the song "Christine Daae" by this band, and if I recall correctly, I described the song as "The Used-lite meets bad bar rock." Needless to say, I wasn't exactly thrilled to listen to the band's debut full length on Epitaph, but once I got around to putting it in my stereo, I regretted waiting so long to play it. A good majority of these songs sound nothing like "Christine Daae," and thus, Devout/The Modern Hymn ain't half bad.

Scatter The Ashes' sound is very atmospheric and heavy at the same time, which only conjurs up one band for me - Cave In. There's a ton of Cave In's fingerprints all over a number of these songs. The gutteral scream followed by a devastatingly thick guitar riff breakdown in "White Actress." The melodic vocal patterns displayed in "Division" and "In The Company Of Wolves." The coulda-been-a-Jupiter-B-side "City In The Sea." Devout/The Modern Hymn is the major label debut that Cave In should have put out, instead of the garbage that eventually cleared RCA's execs. There's a ton of guitar effects all over this record, but it's never too much in any one song.

The record cruises along with a good energy up until the closing songs; the aforementioned "Christine Daae" and "Hour Benediction." Both include some of the influences eariler displayed on the record, but then devolve into this Used-lite meets bad bar rock scenario previously described. It's a shame, as the rest of the album is a solid, if slightly predictable rock disc.

MP3s
Caesura
City In The Sea
Christine Daae

Stream five songs here