Dante's Ascension

Infobox musical artist
Name = Dante's Ascension

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Img_capt = "Dante's Ascension 2nd EP - Circles of the Vortex."
Img_size = 275
Landscape =
Background = group_or_band
Origin = London, England, UK
Current_members = Ricky Abrahams (Vocals)
Kieran Spiers(Guitar/Vocals)
Robert Woodland (Guitar)
James "Pygmy" McLintock (Drums)
Christopher Sparrow(Bass guitar)
Genre = Metal
Years_active = 2006 - present
Label =
Associated_acts = Trenchhead
The Fury

URL = http://www.dantesascension.com
URL = http://www.myspace.com/dantesascension

Dante's Ascension are a metal/ ambience band from London, England.

Biography

Formed in spring 2006 by Ricky Abrahams (vocals) Paul Sparkes (drums) and Robert Woodland (guitar) from the ashes of now defunct metalcore band The Fury. In June 2006 guitarist of Trenchhead and local friend Kieran Spiers was asked in to session for an upcoming show. The band, impressed with Kieran's creative input, asked Kieran to join. Equally impressed with the bands current songs and work ethic, Kieran joined full time guitar and 2nd vocal duties in July 2006. In December 2006, the band self released their self produced debut EP, "Storm Clouds Up Ahead" to an ecouraging reception. Sadly, due to numerous reasons in the winter of 2006, drummer Paul Sparkes was asked to leave the band and drum duties were taken over by his successor James "Pygmy" Mclintock (hereafter referred to as "Pygmy").

After playing in and around London with temporary bassist Nkemi the band felt it right to settle with a permanent bassist who, on the same wavelength as the rest of the members, would bring a depth to the music and allow the songs to grow. After auditioning as live session it was felt that Christopher Sparrow, a good friend of the band, with his collaborative style and improvisational skills, was the ideal man for the job. Fortunately he agreed in early 2007 and the band continued to play across the UK.

In the summer of 2007,the band began work on their second E.P "Circles of the Vortex". Featuring more aggressive and mature material than the previous "Storm Clouds Up Ahead", "Circles of the Vortex" is currently in the tracking and mixing stage of production and production duties are again being handled by guitarist/vocalist Kieran Spiers. The opening track of this second EP, "Dis" may be found at the bands official myspace.

Musical content and subject matter

Music

The self proclaimed "hard to define" sound of the band can be attributed to the many influences that help create the bands music. It is difficult to pigeon hole their sound to a single genre but elements of groove metal, Scandinavian death metal, Metalcore, post metal, progressive death metal and noise metal help to define their sound. With influences across the board including Journey, Nile, Gojira, All Shall Perish, Strapping Young Lad, At the Gates, Lamb of God and the most notable influences being American and British acts such as Chimaira, Johnny Truant, Norma Jean, Isis and Devil Sold His Soul.

ubject matter

Featuring both heavy metal screams and roars combined with clean singing the lyrical content of Dante's Ascensions material varies widely on a plethora of mythological and fictional topics. Many songs depict first person accounts of fictional events such as the opening of Pandora's box in "Heaven Falls" or the creation of a destructive medieval weapon in "Black Machine". Similarly a great deal of material is based upon mythological and religious ideas such as the Egyption creation deity Atum ("Dark Side of Atum"). As would be expected a good portion of their lyrical content is relative to "The Divine Comedy" from which the band drew their name. Most notably the songs "Dis" and "Cocytus: The 9th Circle" deal with Dis, the city of hell and Cocytus the lowest floor of hell as both depicted in "The Divine Comedy".

Discography

E.P's

*2007 - Circles of the Vortex "In production"
*2006 - Storm Clouds Up Ahead "Self Released"

Current lineup

* Ricky Abrahams - Vocals
* Kieran Spiers - Guitar / Vocals
* Robert Woodland - Guitar
* Christopher Sparrow - Bass guitar
* "Pygmy" - Drums

Previous members

*"November 2006 - March 2007" Isadu A Nkemi- Bass guitar
*"March 2006 - December 2006" Paul Sparkes - drums

External links

* [http://www.myspace.com/dantesascension Dante's Ascension official Myspace]
* [http://www.dantesascension.com Dante's Ascension official website]
* [http://www.rockbeast.com/article.php?art=1214 Rockbeast Review of "Storm Clouds Up Ahead"]