Culture of Ascent
By Glass Hammer
| . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
Track listing
- 1 South Side of the Sky 9:24
- 2 Sun Song 9:33
- 3 Life by Light 7:29
- 4 Ember Without Name 16:33
- 5 Into Thin Air 19:14
- 6 Rest 6:33
- Total length: 68:46
Rate/Catalog
Catalog
Set listening
Review
To rate, slide your finger across the stars from left to right.
3 Issues
4 Reviews
This is one of those albums that's wedged in-between, coming after the band's massive double-disc effort The Inconsolable Secret, but before their rather popular albums with Jon Davison. It seems to be mostly known for its cover of "South Side of the Sky", which not only does justice to the original but also gets Mr. Jon Anderson himself as a guest, though the always-excellent Susie Bogdanowicz handles the lead vocals. The band was proud of it and rightfully so, though its position as lead-off track allows it to overshadow the rest of the album, perhaps unfairly. As always, Glass Hammer bring the goods, this time thickening up their sound wherever possible - "Sun Song" is like an even more muscular "Run Lisette", while "Ember Without Name" uses a string trio, double bass drumming, and some pretty wild synth soloing. Almost feels a bit Zeppelin at the start, too.
The rest of the album is a bit more celestial, with one song seemingly inspired directly by Mr. Anderson ("Life by Light", featuring a little bit o' the Jon himself). "Into Thin Air" is one of two epics on the disc ("Ember" is the other), and like most GH epics it's stuffed with little sub-sections and some instrumental spotlights, including a good dose of violin. It is not quite as memorable as "Ember" but it's probably better overall, with a lot of tasty playing all around and a theatrical atmosphere which reminds of the best moments from the last few albums. The last track ("Rest") feels like kind of a toss off, a nice pleasant piece to drift off to (like "Heroes and Dragons" but not quite as good). Overall it's a pretty damn good album, that just happens to be sandwiched in-between some damn great ones (and Three Cheers for the Broken-Hearted, which I also like...).
The rest of the album is a bit more celestial, with one song seemingly inspired directly by Mr. Anderson ("Life by Light", featuring a little bit o' the Jon himself). "Into Thin Air" is one of two epics on the disc ("Ember" is the other), and like most GH epics it's stuffed with little sub-sections and some instrumental spotlights, including a good dose of violin. It is not quite as memorable as "Ember" but it's probably better overall, with a lot of tasty playing all around and a theatrical atmosphere which reminds of the best moments from the last few albums. The last track ("Rest") feels like kind of a toss off, a nice pleasant piece to drift off to (like "Heroes and Dragons" but not quite as good). Overall it's a pretty damn good album, that just happens to be sandwiched in-between some damn great ones (and Three Cheers for the Broken-Hearted, which I also like...).
Published
ADVERTISEMENT
When they're not busy demonstrating their love for Yes, they are happily demonstrating their love for Kansas. This is modern Symphonic Prog at it's best. Highly recommended.
Published
Sounds nothing like pop record this is prog rock all the way , it has a similar style to it as Yes for the first half the first Epic "Ember Without" is like Spocks beard the last epic "Into The Air" is similar to early Kansas. Not a masterpiece but above average modern prog
Published
Votes are used to help determine the most interesting content on RYM.
Vote up content that is on-topic, within the rules/guidelines, and will likely stay relevant long-term.
Vote down content which breaks the rules.
Vote up content that is on-topic, within the rules/guidelines, and will likely stay relevant long-term.
Vote down content which breaks the rules.
Catalog
19 Oct 2023
17 Jul 2023
13 Jun 2023
24 May 2023
7 Jan 2023
4 Dec 2022
8 Jul 2022
13 Jun 2022
28 Jan 2022
25 Oct 2021
8 Apr 2021
29 Oct 2020
26 Oct 2020
27 Jun 2020
1 Jun 2020
-
1
South Side of the Sky
-
2
Sun Song
-
3
Life by Light
-
4
Ember Without Name
-
5
Into Thin Air
-
6
Rest
Contributions
Log in to submit a correction or upload art for this release