Is This Revolutionary?

The Ascent of Everest – From This Vantage (2010)

25 Mar 2011 1 Comment

by Is This Revolutionary? in Album, Reviews Tags: Ascent of Everest, From This Vantage

You know those albums you hear for the first time, and after it’s over you can’t even speak? Then you have it on repeat for a week afterward? Two albums that did that to me include Sigur Ros’s Agaetis Byrjun and The Earth is Not a Cold Dead Place by Explosions In The Sky for example. The Ascent of Everest’s From This Vantage is one of those albums; it completely blew me away. The moment “Return to Us” (track 2) crushed me with it’s powerful beauty, I was hooked. It’s different stylistically than their debut, which is great because it breaks new ground for the post-rock genre. It uses vocals brilliantly, hopping back and fourth between male and female voices. The use of strings on the album is very creative, and the guitars drone behind the melodies of strings and vocals like an endless abyss lingering below you. The atmospherics on this album are simply fantastic. The songwriting is extremely mature, and displays a very classical approach. The band takes advantage of percussion in addition to drums, and performs this aspect in a very unconventional way taking advantage of polyrhythms. There are also some electronic percussion sprinkled here and there.

Rating: I highly recommend this album to anyone interested in post-rock, classical music or anyone open minded. This is a masterpiece in my honest opinion. The entire album is amazing, but the standout tracks are “Return to Us”, “Dark Dark My Light” “Sword and Shield” and “From this Vantage.”  The Ascent of Everest is certainly ascending, but let’s hope they haven’t reached their peak yet! [Editor's Note: Such a lame line.] 5/5 Kegs.
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J.