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Hivemind

by Ashbreather

supported by
Dmitry Nevozhay
Dmitry Nevozhay thumbnail
Dmitry Nevozhay One song sci-fi cosmic saga of 37:41 runtime. Progressive psych/death/sludge with varying tempo and good dynamic, inventive and technical as they are Canadians.
YomaBarr
YomaBarr thumbnail
YomaBarr Jazzdeath of the highest order. As a sucker for album long songs done right... very right. What a pity Mr. Lem ("The Invincible") can't listen to this.
AlanKeys
AlanKeys thumbnail
AlanKeys Its so immensely satisfying how Ashbreather has pulled of a song of such length and quality. The instrumentation, story and vocals are on point and blend well together. Definitely among my favorites
Nekobibu
Nekobibu thumbnail
Nekobibu This is GREAT. Enough said.
Reek Of STOOM
Reek Of STOOM thumbnail
Reek Of STOOM An Outstanding example of Progressive Sludge Metal! Absolutely essential purchase! FFO YURT, VOIVOD, WORM etc...
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    Includes both albums "Hivemind" and "Ashbreather", as well as the EP "Ow, My Eye" on CD format.

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1.
Hivemind 37:41
I. Bring down the ark! Cast out the anchors There's life here on this rock Rife with thought Ours for the taking Neural oscillations call Out to us We’ll descend to meet them Down from the skies To make first contact For the thousandth time Dissect their bodies and their minds Just one more conquest for humankind II. Grinding To a halt, our vessel Inoculates their homeworld Only met with silence A barren waste Churning Soil begins erupting Rock and silt bursting forth Pestilent clouds of flies Consume the sky Brain-dead, every thought Belonging to the swarm Force-fed from the instant As writhing maggots they’re born Puritanical, overcompensate To alleviate their shame Autonomy still remains But choked and rendered lame Haze of insects fills the air Bodies separate but minds are shared Worthless parts to form a whole Void of mind and void of soul Collective thoughts behind their eyes No progress lost as each one dies A trillion wings blot out the sun Though they are many, they are one Savage intrusion, splicing through The surface, peeling the flesh away Inner machinery on display for all to see Bask in accolades The quest for knowledge Blinds the eye to fate And desecrates the form Of a weaker kind Morbid laboratories, a violent scene Of crying and suffering Painted on the walls And far beyond these hallowed halls Improve the recipe The chemistry that creates the mind And bind this life unto our own To then refine our own design Fingers Wrapped around the cortex Feel the electricity Million lives in progress Rushing into my Mind’s eyes Swarming the senses and my dreams Violates, penetrates my thoughts Violates, penetrates my heart Owwwwwwwww! Churning My insides are ruptured My outsides are flickering All my nerves are bickering I see creatures watching Staring uncaring, loveless Fade into my reality I can’t feel my soul Consume me whole III. (Instrumental) IV. Overcome with Mundanity They stoke and feed Their vanity Their greed and pride Contort their wills Gorged on thorax Enlargement pills Invertebrate Automatons Berate themselves With minds as one A kingdom of Conformity To ever-morphing Normalcy Close your eyes Accept your fate Creatures crave To be your mate Just try to scream Beneath the skin A life to shed Bound to them On this thread To be cut This cradled corpse Sinks below Spirit drained A fatal blow To the soul Locked within This prison cell Senses warped Mind dispelled To the swarm V. Sinking, deeper into the Depths of imaginary Cities, drenched in mucus and Neon entices, pulls me Further, deeper into the Hive mind, imagining the Feelings, be part of something Bigger, I will not give you My self This Will not Be my Reality I Will not Let my Reality go Down Go run and fly and swim and crawl Make your escape with your mind’s legs Run and fly and swim and crawl Go somewhere far where they won’t chase you Down VI. (Instrumental) VII. (Instrumental) VIII. Enlightened by the aeons I have witnessed through their eyes United with the insects Sharing body soul and mind I will bring this age of mindless Drudgery to an end Righteously declare to them "I will make you whole again" Rake my fingers through your brains End this thoughtless, truthless hell I will rip out the rot I will free you from yourselves All the sorrow and shame Of the swarm's all-seeing eyes I will cast it away When the old ways finally die Readily, they welcome me Within with open arms They flock to me, so easily Prepared to heed their prophet Self-mutilate to imitate My foreign human form Monstrous mounds of manufactured Flesh and chitin fused to form A shambling race that wears my face And imitates my words Mass produce my likeness to Impose upon their brethren Heedless to my protests My fanatics venture forth To shed their exoskeletons And drape the world in human skin Strip the visage from the frame Overcome with cancerous cells Now the sinew grows unchecked Spread with grand artillery shells Noxious salvo of meat Rains upon them from on high Now the change is complete Now the old ways finally die Mother, they dropped a big one Right on top of us Where, where have my antennas gone to? Mother, what are these strange new smells? Mother, Mother If my body is dust, why do I still feel? Mother... IX. Slip into conscience Slip in the nonsense No slitting your throat Or stripping your skin You sit and you shit in your vomit Millions cede to Your revolt of nerve ends Your tantrums a final solution Spewing and spraying And reaching and wrecking the masses Your revolution here will not be televised Or streamed or prerecorded You obey a timeless enigma That stems from the spinal cord You will not be sainted You will not be martyred You will merely become A puddle of juices with a mildly sour taste Not dead, but dying A corpse with neurons firing Too much, too many Fries my internal wiring Convulsing and writhing As my mind’s eye is flying Blank eyes, loose sphincters They hoist aloft this human husk Did they create this world in my image? Or did I create this world? Worship A deluge of reverence Pummeling me Drowning Awash in their thoughts and their Prayers and their empathy Saviour Am I the master? And are they the dog? Slaver Or just an invader Who thinks he's a god? Pollen and policy fly through the air Crowning me king of the swarm Bills are passed like violent gas Establishing of the new norm Jubilant cries, palpable sighs Their fears and their burdens are lifted A tear in my eye, I ascend to the sky To watch over this world I've been gifted X. And why Shouldn’t I Revel beside these creatures Born of my design? Deified Lord of this mound of excretions I’ve Changed their lives Grotesque as they are The faces that they wear are mine In due time Everything cedes to extinction And why Shouldn’t I Remain in this new utopia Where I preside? They rely Upon my alien wisdom I’ve Opened their eyes If not for me they’d still be Nothing more than flies Satisfied To live and die without reason I Will arise On a tower of soy-based muscles And polysaccharides Hearts alive! Arrhythmic but beating all in sync I’ll Colonize With an army of leaky colons And mighty swollen thighs To the skies! Carried by their atrophied wings XI. One last broadcast to the Earth To announce the glorious birth Of this world you now behold One of mind and one of soul

about

The story is about scientists exploring the cosmos, going from planet to planet studying the various life forms by capturing subjects, dissecting them, and forming neurological links with them. In so doing, they can learn their ways first-hand. On the particular planet explored on the album, the residents are insects belonging to a hivemind, but not in the classical sense; rather than having every member follow a designated leader, every individual maintains their autonomy. As such, they are always able to hear one another’s thoughts and words as a simultaneous, never ending cacophony. The result is a hyper-judgmental, puritanical society in which all of the bugs must conform to an ever-changing image of the ideal insect.


#6 best Québec metal album of 2022 from Thorium Magazine

"Their new album quickly lets you know that Ashbreather have more than enough talent, and ambition, to stand on their own and stand out from the crowd... Indeed, perhaps the biggest compliment I can give this album is that it simultaneously feels bigger and more epic than its thirty-seven minute run-time yet never feels too big."

- Andy Synn (No Clean Singing)

"Ashbreather’s career is too young to know whether this one-song album is a bold one-off experiment from a fledgling writing team or the first of several to come, but given the level to which they’ve nailed it at the first time of asking, I would absolutely not complain if we get more of the same going forward."

- Metal Storm

"The noodling licks and thunderous riffs that appear on Hivemind would make Brent Hinds and Bill Kelliher proud... If you’ve grown weary of the usual cosmic horror narratives in progressive metal, Ashbreather have the cure for what ails you; a thrilling concept album that consistently delivers."

- The Progressive Subway

"Hivemind is a one track full-length sci-fi conceptual masterpiece. Calm and slightly psychedelic parts alternate with furious or chaotic speed. The high points follow one another regularly, each one more enjoyable than the other. The trio proves us its excellence as much in the fury as in the atmospheric reverie."

- Thierry François (Metal Intégral)

"Progressive metal is often hit or miss with me, but Ashbreather inject something fresh into a genre often overburdened by skronky wankery and carbon copy djent bands. I can firmly say that this is one of my favourite prog records of the year."

- Where Strides the Behemoth?

"A solid record that packs a punch in its own special way. Dynamic, intense, and layered to the max. Well done!"

- Tom de Wit (TDW/Layered Reality Productions)

credits

released November 11, 2022

Mackay Agellon: Guitars, vocals, percussion, saxophone
Charles Richards: Bass, vocals, percussion, drones
Colin MacAndrew: Drums, vocals, percussion

Guest vocals by: Matt Moss
Spoken word by: Gabriel Tulli, April Sada Solomon, Phil Aveline, Celeste Cypher, Mackay Agellon, and Colin MacAndrew
All music recorded and engineered by: Mackay Agellon at Borkum Riff Studios
Mixed and mastered by: April Hutchins at Muffin Studios
Artwork by: Aaron Loveday
CD layout by: Alex Rakobowchuk
Music and lyrics by: Ashbreather
Additional lyrics by: Ben Lavoie

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about

Ashbreather Montreal, Québec

December 2016 was the birth of progressive sludge/death metal group, Ashbreather, featuring former members of The Wild Hunt.

As of January 2021, the band has become a trio with each member sharing vocal duties, and throwing in non-traditional metal instruments into their music.
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