Melbourne groove/thrash metal merchants The Ascended have hit the ground sprinting with their latest single The Dark.
Taking all of the elements that has thrust the band into the forefront of Australian metal and combining it with lessons learned along the way, The Ascended have sonically and visually stepped up another massive level, delivering a cracking tune that is the culmination of more than half a decade of toil to the metal grind.
Frontman Mat Wale joined HEAVY earlier this week to discuss the new single and the musical direction it follows.
"It's a new or elevated direction for us in terms of refining some of the elements that we found to be most successful out of what we've done previously, and really refining that and taking that to the next level."
How
"We found that we found our groove with the metalcore balance of harsh vocals and clean choruses and catchy riffs - which is what we do best. We have taken that and refined the riffs, so the riffs are crisp and improved technically, the structure is not so much of a riff/chorus, riff/chorus so nothing is repeating. So we've got more riffs, heavy breakdowns in term of heavier tuning and really worked in the chorus and melodic sing-along chorus which we've found works and resonates with the fans live and on the previous record. We've taken that to the next level."
In the full interview Matt goes into more details on The Dark, including the mysterious rune that features predominantly and how it fits in with the upcoming album, reveals more details about the album including the title, the musical direction of the album and how it improves on the groundwork laid before, The Ascended's mixing of genres and how they make it work, surviving lockdown, their upcoming run of shows with Desecrator and Harlott and more.