Appleseed Cast, The / Illumination Ritual
Album: Illumination Ritual   Collection:General
Artist:Appleseed Cast, The   Added:Aug 2013
Label:Graveface Records  

A-File Activity
Add Date: 2013-09-01 Pull Date: 2013-11-03
Week Ending: Oct 27 Oct 20 Oct 13 Oct 6 Sep 29 Sep 8
Airplays: 1 2 2 2 1 3

Recent Airplay
1. Jul 18, 2017: butterscotch memory
Cathedral Rings
4. Jan 29, 2015: The Sunset Life
Barrier Islands (Do We Remain)
2. Apr 30, 2016: Life Aquatic
Adriatic To Black Sea
5. Nov 06, 2014: The Sunset Life
Illumination Ritual
3. Jun 04, 2015: The Final Sunset
Great Lake Derelict
6. Oct 25, 2014: The KZSU Alumni Weekend Bonanza
Great Lake Derelict

Album Review
DJ Away
Reviewed 2013-08-27
The Appleseed Cast have walked the line between emo and post-rock their entire career, but with this album they’ve again hit an absolutely perfect union of catchy songwriting and expansive atmospherics. Unlike their monumental double album Low Level Owl, this is a more serene and naturalistic affair. These songs are active and energetic but never showy. Rather, the technicality and attention to detail make these songs feel organic and airborne, even at their heaviest. Brief descriptions don’t do justice to the nuance of the music. One of most subtly pleasurable and stunning albums of the year. It’s all great. Play all/any. No FCCs detected.

1. (5:29)—Slow, mellow beginning. Calm; vocals enter. Builds to fast climax.
2. (4:37)—Fast. Frenetic drumming, anthemic vocals and guitars.
3. (2:41)—Slow. Instrumental. Muscular rhythms paired with soothing guitar interplay.
4. (4:37)—Fast. Spare but highly rhythmic verses. Big, ringing choruses.
5. (4:16)—Fast verses, half-time choruses. Another relatively anthemic piece, this time with a more conventional structure. Hypnotic coda.
6. (3:01)— Mid-tempo. Instrumental. Calm, reflective, spare. Sudden ending.
7. (4:13)—Fast. Epic intro segues into a post-punk trance state. Giant ending. Pure energy. Blends into track 8, so either play on continuous or fade this out manually. (Tracks 7-10 work really well on continuous.)
8. (6:02)—Fast. Gauzy, spaced-out, driving. Ambient middle section. Krautrock for walking in the woods.
9. (5:14)—Fast. Picks up where the last track left off. Starts in a slightly lower gear, grows in intensity when the call-and-response vocals enter. Feedback for the last thirty seconds.
10. (4:03)—Fast. Instrumental. Loud beginning, calms over time and settles into a perfect, tranquil post-rock groove.

Track Listing
1. Adriatic To Black Sea   6. Branches On The Arrow Peak Revelation
2. Great Lake Derelict   7. Barrier Islands (Do We Remain)
3. Simple Forms   8. North Star Ordination
4. Cathedral Rings   9. Clearing Life
5. 30 Degrees 3am   10. Illumination Ritual