REVIEWS:

"Written In Ashes" (Self-titled release 2004) Latex Records

Morbid Outlook - Mistress McCutchan - In Rotation, June 2006
Morbid Outlook
If Deine Lakaien and Lacrimosa defined what darkwave was in the 90’s, this could very well be one of the albums to define this decade’s darkwave. I know these guys have history; although their first release was nearly ten years ago, I think this album could seriously put them on the map. A good fusion of classic gothic rock and dark electronica. I have a feeling you should keep an eye out for these guys.

Livid Looking Glass - The Octopus - Issue 1 Summer 2005
Livid Looking Glass
Written In Ashes' latest album on Latex Records delivers its audience a great selection of goth rock and dance songs. The album opens with a beautiful ambient instrumental piece that sets a somber mood. The following track "The Sea" is my favorite one. The vocals remind me of a cross between Peter Murphy of Bau Haus and at times Andrew Eldridge of the Sisters of Mercy. This is a very classic goth rock track. It has the chorus guitars drenched in reverb that play lyrical melodies around the vocals. The vocals are as hook-laden as the guitars. I have found myself humming the different melodies hours after listening to the CD. "Of Hell, Hope and High Water" is a nice club track that shows WIA's danceable side with its driving drums and bass lines. If you are looking for an album that taps into the roots of goth rock, I would highly recommend this record.

The Portland Mercury - AM - Up & Coming Volume 5 No 42, March 17, 2005
Written in Ashes sets black hearts aflutter with its industrial-clatter riffs, throbbing synth-smothered pulse and sensual baritone vocals. On its self-titled 2004 release, the Portland-based band's third full-length but its first with its latest lineup, WIA resembles Ministry or Skinny Puppy, had those acts pursued forbidden seduction instead of alerting listeners about assorted evils. Kevyn Hay's non-apocalyptic lyrics let fans dance to the dark-wave grooves without the usual incongruity that comes with using baroque tidings of their imminent grotesque demise as a choreography catalyst.

Legends Magazine - Ray Van Horn JR - Isuues #146, February 2005
Legends Magazine #146
Since 1996 this underground cult favorite has been pecking its way through the annals of the Goth scene. With a shifted lineup and a new direction, as do many existing bands that reinvent themselves, Written in Ashes returns from hiatus and offers up its fourth recording as a self-titled release. Crossfires of Lush, Cocteau Twins, Sisters of Mercy, Depeche Mode and Cure-like guitars amp the otherwise groove-minded spirit of Written in Ashes? latest delivery, and with its retro embracement begets a refreshing ala carte tribute to alternative music as it once existed, while embellishing its own contemporary twist in the process. The cryptic opening of Solemnity VI leaves a morose impression with its German manifesto soundbyte coupled with haunting keys, setting up The Sea, which lumbers proudly like its title, sounding as if Cocteau Twins decided to lean towards edginess. The steady All I Never Wanted and Of Hell, Hope & High Water features driving dance beats in Anything Box fashion, while Kevyn D. Hay's snarling vocals take on shades of Peter Murphy, as they do periodically throughout the disc. Pale September keeps the pace going with its sharp programming and undeniable refusal to relinquish the control Written in Ashes has developed for itself. The band sounds invigorated and inspired in its rebirth. The bass-heavy soothing syncopation of Lament for Lamore coats the slow trance of the hypnotic verses that unravel into sturdy Goth-laced bridges and choruses. By the By, while it has a primitive stripped-down feeling to it, is carried nicely by Jason Carter's assumptive guitars and programming along with his mates Ashe Ruppe and Endymion Stark. Within a minute of the song one is assimilated into their rhythmic motherboard and swept along by a professional group that knows its way around a Goth channel like a river guide. Both Maskin and Unfaith slink, but in different manners. Maskin is straightforward and precocious, while Unfaith is downright dirty and rude, not far off from late eighties Depeche Mode. It's a savory and lusty song that will undoubtedly induce a quivering trigger finger along with other extendable parts; a real erotic treat. This same Depeche Mode-esque groove is recaptured on the satisfying Gypsum Rain, particularly in the Hallowed Grounds Mix which contains a more upbeat tempo and innovative instrumental programming sweeps that make the song a triumph. Meanwhile Solemnity VII caresses its recurrent muse with a luxuriant reworking that is as sexy as Unfaith, though in a more concerted demeanor. For those of you who have been waiting for Written in Ashes to resurface, despair no longer the wait was well worth it. The 2004 edition is a slick and savvy homecoming that treats its rejuvenation like its namesake, rising like the proverbial phoenix, burning brightly with heart and passion.

Gothic Beauty - Sonya Brown - Issue#13, Summer 2004
There are a handful of male vocalists that trigger an instant recognition and a tingle down my spine. WIA vocalist Kevyn Hay is one of them. After a long wait, the new self-titled Written In Ashes cd has finally arrived. I have been a faithful WIA follower since I first saw them perform in 1998. Since then, WIA has gone through many changes in both line-up and sound. This latest self-titled album is a vast departure from Eternal and Epiphany, but I am confident this cd will stand on its own as a monument to the electronic evolution that WIA now wishes to follow. Mastered by M.C. Death (of Attenuated Euphoria), Written In Ashes also features the talents of Ashe Ruppe, Jason Carter, and Damon Law; along with guest musician Ashkelon Sain (of Trance To The Sun, Submarine Fleet, and most recently Electromagnet). My favorite tracks include the infectious "By The By," and the down and dirty (and very sexy), "Unfaith".

MK Magazine - Joel Podbereski - Spring 2004
Written in Ashes paints the world with a bruised pallet, blending classic traditional Cure-esque guitar flange with well-crafted duo vocals and efficient backbeats, bringing back some of the tragedy into Goth music while retaining a progression into aggressive harmonic symphony. ?All I Ever Wanted? sweeps the listener away into forlorn longings while ?Of Hope, Hell, & High Water carries a Rosetta Stone-like determination to fight against personalized tyrannies. ?Lament for Lanore? takes a decidedly more morose turn, while ?Maskin? embodies a serpentine element. Written in Ashes is a must for the consumer of classic Goth sounds and thematics.

The Haven - Mystchief - May 2004
Darkwave has never sounded better. Written in Ashes has re-invented themselves and succeeded in becoming a powerful force in this scene. Founding father Kevyn D. Hay has taken all he has learned over the years and decided to evolve with the the intention of making a statement so strong to not take notice is to be deaf. The rest of the band is a who's who of Goth and Darkwave, Ashe Ruppe (The Elysium Facade, Nocturne- and Trance to the Sun) Jason Carter (Black Winter & Love Nancy Sugar) and Damon Law (the Stark & sexwithsarah) bringing their own strength to this new LP. It gets you from the beginning and keeps you till the last note fades.

Strong melodies and super-dark swirly rhythms are only as great as the guitar that drives them. Sexy throbbing beats and bass lines and fantastic male vocals (Kevyn D. Hay) that take you back to the likes of Nosferatu, The Cure, Lycia and Mission UK. This is a great CD. Standouts tracks include..."The Sea" (my fav) "Hell, Hope & High Water", "By the By", "Unfaith", "All I Never Wanted" and "Gypsum Rain"(Hallowed Ground Rmx). This is destined to be one of the big underground hits in 2004 and I plan on spinning this CD as much as possible at clubs all over the SF Bay Area, it's definitely a dance floor filler and soon to be a club favorite.

Dark Realms - Randy Rosko - Spring 2004
Darkwave music veterans Written In Ashes return to the muisc arena with their strongest offering to date. The band's sound is very similar to classic Christian Death, and Kevyn D. Hay's vocals are reminiscient of Nosferatu's Dominic Lavey. The CD begins with "Solemnity VI," a cool atmospheric intro piece that blends electronic music with an old recording of a speech given in German. What follows is a solid musical assault comprised of some fo the best goth-rock tracks released in recent years. Standout cuts include "Unfaith," which blends sensual lyrics with hard-edged guitar riffs, "Gypsum Rain," which is offered as two different mixes, and the eerie "Hell, Hope & High Water." This CD is solid from start to finish and should definitely launch Written In Ashes to the forefront of their genre. Highly recommended.

Kronic.it - Federico Tozzi - March 2004
Dopo otto anni di carriera arriva questo album omonimo che sin dalla prima nota fa capire cosa si ha di fronte: un lavoro molto orientato al dark anni 80 che pur nel riuscire a presentare delle canzoni tutto sommato carine si è completamente arenato sulla riproposizione di quello che in tempi passati altri hanno prima inventato e poi realizzato. I Written In Ashes sono una band con i punti di riferimento assolutamente chiari, in certi momenti, "The Sea" per esempio, quasi lampanti; Sisters of Mercy, Clan of Xymox più un certo gusto più arioso in chiave primi Mission. Dai riff al cantato, dal mood al suono dei synth sino alla batteria rigorosamente elettronica tutto riporta costantemente alla dark wave dell`epoca. Un difetto? Si, se da un gruppo ci si aspetta qualcosa di personale, no se alla fine lo si ascolta solo per passare del tempo. Ma a questo punto tanto vale rimettere su i vecchi cari dischi. In questo caso non è tanto importante distinguere tra i brani con una impronta più marcatamente elettronica e quelli più lenti e malinconici, "Pale September", quanto rendersi conto che certi lavori, e certi gruppi, si limitano a risultare piacevoli ad un ascolto poco curato, ma non hanno la capacità di andare oltre e lasciarsi dietro una scia che li faccia rimpiangere.

Chain D.L.K. - Marc Urselli-Schärer - February 2004
Our partner in crime TG Mondalf, who used to run RhythmUS Network (now part of Chain D.L.K.), started his very own recording label, Latex records, and, right off the bat, picked up one of the biggest underground dark wave bands: Written In Ashes. After eight years and a line up that consists of members of The Elysium Facade, Trance to the Sun, Black Winter, Love Nancy Sugar, theStark, sexwithsarah etc, the four-piece has put together a new full lenght album that brings together eclectic and dynamic guitar playing, equally mutating vocals searching for a balance between goth singing and slightly filtered electro voice and a music structure built on a solid foundation of dark/goth jamming, electronic programming and textures of pads, strings etc. It's hard to achieve the status of "signature sound" in this genre, because everything is always on the edge of being inevitably derivative. The oveall sound is hard to pin down, but I am sure if you had a map with the Mission UK, the Cure, the Sisters, Rosetta, Lycia and other a bunch of other underground bands that are now probably looking up to Written In Ashes, you'd probably be drawing lines to join all the dots.

Grave Concerns - Jules Cohen - February 2004
Latest Release by Ashe Ruppe and fellow bandmates Kevyn, Jason, Endymion...show many influences and a really nice release. I hear soo many influences in this cd from the synth masters from the 80s...to Sisters of Mercy, Rozz and Rosetta Stone. As a fan of all...it captured my attention. It also is a release that fits in nicely for fans of The last Dance, Bella Morte, Cruxshadows, Voltaire and Collide. Pale September is my favorite on the cd. It blends all my favorite style with a batcave sound. Xymox...early days is best way to peg it. It's sexy and could be also the spawn of A-Ha...but a bit more gothic. It's a nice bit of work...and shows Ashe's programming genius. Other notable tracks on the cd...Lament for Lenore, Gypsium Rain (very Depeche Modesque), and the opening track..Solemnity 6. This cd will not disappoint.

"Epiphany" (2000)

Legends Magazine - Mike Ventarola
W Week - John Graham

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INTERVIEWS:

2004.11 : Sick Among the Pure
2004.05 : MusicWerks Magazine
2003.10 : Grave Concerns
2001.01 : Legends Magazine
2000.12 : In Music We Trust
2000.?? : Dark Entries

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PRESS KIT:

IN FINAL STAGES OF APPROVAL PROCESS 4-15-06.

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