Prog/Alt Metal Project, Ascending Dawn, Drops New Album, Coalesce
NYC/London-based, prog/alt metal project, Ascending Dawn, drops their album, Coalesce. Coalesce was co-produced, mixed and mastered by Jochem Jacobs (ex-Textures) at Split Second Sound in Amsterdam. A graduate of London’s Royal Academy of Music, previous vocalist of a top-charting Greek pop band, Hi-5, West End performer, representative of Cyprus in the Eurovision Song Contest, and background vocalist for world-touring acts, central figure, Marlain Angelides (vocals/songwriter) brought her cosmopolitan experience from Greece by way of London to New York. Whilst in NYC, she has been involved in musicals, Shakespeare, voice overs and is the current front-woman of the all-girls Led Zeppelin band, LEZ ZEPPELIN, showcasing her wide range of vocal talents that drive the heavy yet melodic sound of Ascending Dawn. “The album as a whole is solidly progressive with a good marriage between the pop influences of Marlain and the progressive metal riffs from the rest of the band.” (Femetalism)
Aptly named, Ascending Dawn rose from coincidental meetings of players from several other projects that each seemed to have their own conflicts. Guitarist Owen Rees met Angelides in London through his band, Enteric, as they were seeking a new vocalist. Passionate about the project, Angelides flew from Greece to join the group, but a year later, they disbanded due to external forces and logistical arrangements. Drummer/composer Mark Weatherley, then a member of another band, also endured a band split and created a new side project with Rees and bass player, Jen “Connie” Fletcher. Searching for a new band, Angelides applied to a new London project which turned out to re-unite her with Rees and introduce her to Weatherley and Connie. Thus, Ascending Dawn was born. Within three weeks all the vocal lines and lyrics to Coalesce were written and production began. Connie left the project, as she left to go home to Australia but remains a friend and major contributor to the debut album’s mix of metal, prog and melodic hard rock. Rees and Weatherley remain in London, contributing their writing and production of Ascending Dawn from afar as Angelides paves the way in the US. Sputik Music raves, “the experience of this masterpiece ends too soon. But there is still the “repeat” button.”
Stay tuned as Ascending Dawn rises in the ranks with Coalesce and continues to make waves with “its sick metal riffs and Marlain Angelides’ powerfully passionate vocals” (Time Lord) on the new tracks and videos leading up the the album release.