Burning Brides really made it happen with
Fall of the Plastic Empire. The Philly trio toured the album hard, as hard as their thick, rabid guitar music hit. And don't forget about that bass -- Melanie Campbell's fingers didn't seem large enough to create the
Entwistle-ian thunder of
the Brides' bottom end. Well, in 2004 Campbell and six-string shouter cohort Dimitri Coats are back, powered by drummer Jason Kourkounis and dropping an anvil called
Leave No Ashes on the world's glass slipper. The approach hasn't changed -- Coats still screams with
Mark Arm abandon, and tracks like "Alternative Teenage Suicide" and the title cut renew the
Burning Brides trademark of meaty, overdriven riffs smashing full speed into unforgiving rhythm sections. "To Kill a Swan"'s leaden thud is stoner rock-worthy, while Coats' full-bore scream of "I want you gone!" on "King of the Demimonde" is the rallying cry of a thousand fed-up boyfriends. But
Leave No Ashes also stokes
the Brides' flame with a new sense of cool gooey dynamics, shifts that transform sludge into flashes of heavy metal guitar-hero wizardry or corrosive punk ethos in the twist of an amp knob. And the keyboards! Well, not in the sophomore-curse sense. "Dance With the Devil"'s codependency -- "Everyone only wants to f*ck you...but I know I must hate to love you" -- is tinged with bizarre carnival keys that make it sound like a grease-monkey version of
Quasi. "Last Man Standing" is even more of a departure, drifting into lazy dazes of chiming and harmony-laden psychedelia. Still,
Leave No Ashes' main reason for being is the crazed hard rock that shapes itself into melody at just the right time. It's a strong solid effort, and is covered in some of the coolest collagist cover art you'll ever see. Oh, for the days of gatefold LPs! ~ Johnny Loftus