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REVIEW – Straight from the belly of my relatives hometown in Rochester, New York comes a band that offers a very familiar sound with a very unique packaging. Fox 45 may not have invented the wheel, but they make the ride so far more enjoyable than most. “ Ashes of Man” has a charm and a contagious attitude that it is hard not to fall in love with the songs. Songs like “ Doominati” and “ Murdercycle” are just so intoxicating and stellar that you feel you are on a acid trip more than a cd experience. Where most bands feel like they are trying to hard to create the Acid Sabbath sound, for this band it sounds like it came easy. The personality of this band is on display as is the heart and passion. This is clearly a band who are in love with music and want to test their limits. The thing that strikes me the most is that this band respect each other. The song titles do come across as funny and you would think they are parodies. This band is so dark with its tone and emotion, this band I am shocked has a sense of humor.
The doom laden riffs on this album could open the skies and make it piss blood. This band I am not sure what their message is, or if they are sure. One thing I am sure of, this band is undeniably a band that is going to win people over. I will put them up there with Muscle and Marrow as one of the most important bands of the last decade. This band has so many nods to their heroes in both their sound and the way they present it. You feel that this band had to exist for the simple fact that they make music more dangerous and intense. If this is what is coming out of Rochester in this day and age, someone better get contracts and start knocking on doors. This city is going to be the next Seattle. This album is a must listen for fans of anything from Sabbath to Grunge, and all stops in between. This is not a band, this is a first coming. Lord forbid when the second coming hits. Ric Bennett and Twin Earth Records are putting out some incredible music. Seek this band out and seek out the label as well. The biggest negative about this cd is that I found out about it, a year after the cd came out. This is a massive album that I will say, if you are not a fan before, you will be one during and more so after.