ASHES dIVIDE offers emotionally invigorating debut album

The title of ASHES dIVIDE's debut album, Keep Telling Myself it's Alright, led me to believe that this was just another teenage angst attack filled with mediocre musicianship and pragmatic songs of a love lost.

Although Keep Telling Myself it's Alright is filled with songs about heartache and disappointment, the musicianship is anything but the status quo hopeless romantic serenades that saturate mainstream radio nowadays. Rather, ASHES dIVIDE offers an almost spooky insight into songwriter Billy Howerdel's melodramatic soul.

ASHES dIVIDE is the brainchild of A Perfect Circle's founder, Bill Howerdel, who is the sole songwriter of ASHES dIVIDE as well as their ethereal voice of emotion on the album. Unlike A Perfect Circle, ASHES dIVIDE is a clear and concise formula, which features electronic humdrum along with brilliant guitar work.

The first single from the album, "The Stone," features an underwhelming sense of optimism in the lyrics with the backdrop of sublime, yet heavy guitars and rolling, thunderous drums.

Although the single may give you a look into the music on Keep Telling Myself it's Alright, it is far from indicative of the other oddly arranged tracks on the album. The album is from start to finish; an ever-evolving ode to triumphs and failures of one man's life. Billy Howerdel offers listeners an eerie look into his mind and heart with ballads that rise and tumble so dramatically that at times it tends to leave one feeling somewhat crushed. This is not to say that the songs featured on the album are impersonal but quite the opposite; these songs contain the sort of omnipotent vulnerability that offer insight into yourself.

ASHES dIVIDE's debut album has an insurmountable level of complexity in every song, but the songs that are great and the songs that are good on the album are separated by leaps and bounds.

While some songs can make goose bumps boil to the surface of your skin with unparalleled fanaticism, other songs tend to make you feel that this band is truly the harbinger of depressed alternative rock masochism. The moody and sublime tone that remains prevalent throughout the album is reminiscent of bands such as gothic rock heroes, The Cure.

The surreal atmosphere that is created through the various tones and textures on the album make it brutally heart wrenching, yet beautifully human.

Keep Telling Myself it's Alright is an anything but modest look into another person that can either seem awkwardly entertaining to the listener or admittedly obscure.

The album is sort of like having that obscenely outspoken friend who has to tell you all his poetic love stories. Even though it might seem intriguing it can get a little weird at times if allowed to go unchecked. Even though Billy Howerdel's vocals lack the nail in the coffin effect that ASHES dIVIDE's music demands, the album is still beyond simply "good."

ASHES dIVIDE will be featured this year on the main stage of the Project Revolution tour headlined by Linkin Park, showcasing Chris Cornell, the Bravery and 10 Years. Project Revolution will be making a stop in Raleigh on April 13.

This writer can be contacted at features@theeastcarolinian.com.