Bolder moments are better still, across the board. Gregor’s cheeky appropriation of Chopin’s Marche Funèbre on the magnificent, seven-minute Salvation, for instance, is a standard of showboating that precious few other outfits could even dream of pulling off. The build from folky minimalism to wailing tragedy on Lay A Wreath Upon The World is so majestically proggy it takes the breath away. Adrenaline-spiking late highlight Deceivers hits like a midnight sprint through a cemetery then this Stark Town comes on as a compellingly claustrophobic ode to some callous municipality at the end of the world. Halifax, probably.
Burning out rather than fading away, stomping closer A Life Unknown is one of the shorter tracks on offer, but it packs its 250 seconds with razorblade shimmer and fist-pumping defiance. Even more striking is how quickly the record seems to get there. With 12 tracks clocking in at over an hour, Ascension is a truly substantial body of work, but it’s executed with an almost ghostly lightness of touch. Evidence of artists who have mastered their dark craft and another late-career triumph from one of metal’s most enduringly brilliant bands.
Verdict: 4/5
For fans of: My Dying Bride, Unto Others, Opeth
Ascension is released on September 19 via Nuclear Blast