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| Artwork by Eli Quinn. |
Just in time for the first anniversary of Asheran, Dvne and Wasted State Records released a digital version of the vinyl master on Bandcamp. The vinyl master (DR 9) is less compressed, allowing details in the music to come through better than the digital master (DR 6). The original master is quite good for a loud master, but it's such a dense and carefully composed album that the vinyl master gives it the depth it always deserved.
Asheran is a concept album. Drawing inspiration from Frank Herbert, Hayao Miyazaki, and other conservationist-leaning science fiction writers, it tells the epic story of a long exiled space-faring race returning to their home planet to find those left behind having shunned technology, living in harmony with nature. The returning Asheran see the planet as their birthright and thus are compelled to wage a holy war on the others, forcing them to break their sacred oath and unearth their long dormant war machines to defend themselves. Eventually the planet itself goes into self-preservation mode and culls both factions, restoring the balance of nature.
The music flows naturally through the acts of the story, but it’s an album of contrasts: quiet builds versus crushing fuzz, psychedelic stoner metal versus suffocating death metal, and Victor’s cleans against Dan’s growls. The added dynamic range gives a heft that was lacking before. Almost every track on the album features some kind of soft/loud or fast/slow contrast, and these sections sound glorious on the dynamic master; little details surface with each listen. The band has said that they cut around 30 minutes of material from the final album, and it shows. It is expertly paced.
The most evident improvement is the clarity of the bass and drums. All the little cymbal accents are now apparent, and transitions into drum-heavy sections, like the intro to "Viridian Bloom," sound huge. The bass is an integral part of the compositions, often picking up the melody and leading songs, and the added dynamic range helps the bass cut through giving a much fuller listening experience.
Asheran was already a jaw dropping achievement, and the newly released vinyl master makes it even better. Credit to Wasted State Records and the band for releasing it, and simply adding it to the existing album listing, rather than a separate album forcing people to double dip. Hopefully for their next album Dvne will simply release the DR 9 master as the standard version, like Pallbearer and Unleash the Archers.