MySpace a place for friends

Montreal, Quebec, Canada: The french capital of North America, home to the most celebrated hockey team in NHL history, and breeding ground for many of the globe's most prominent heavy metal artists.

While Montreal's Ashes of Eden may not be the forefathers of their hometown's extreme musical underground, they are certainly the flag bearers for the next generation. Renowned for unrelenting live shows and a cult-like local following, Ashes of Eden make it extremely clear with The Human: Conditioned, the group’s debut album, that their sights are set far beyond their city’s limits.

From the no-holds-barred introduction of “Blind Shepherds,” the album’s leadoff track and first single, to the apocalyptic finale of “Evolution of the Germ”, The Human: Conditioned showcases Ashes of Eden’s thrash, black, and traditional metal roots without carbon-copying any of their predecessors.

Formed in 2000, Ashes of Eden took Montreal’s live circuit by storm. Led by vocalist Mike Rochford, the band’s only release to date is 2002’s Ruins of the New Dawn, which earned the group consistent airtime on the long-running “Ulcère de Vos Nuits” radio show and the opportunity to support the EP alongside regional and international acts alike, including Kataklysm, Despised Icon, Dragonlord, and Strapping Young Lad. The band’s first full-length album was predicted for 2005, but news of guitarist Andy Kerr’s departure sent the band back to the drawing board to re-work and perfect the songs that have now become The Human: Conditioned. Having invested nearly two years towards pre- and post-production, the quintet is decidedly anxious to be supporting their first effort, especially given the history leading up the album’s completion.

With superb production work on behalf of engineering team Stacy LeGallee and Sam Boukas, Ashes of Eden have created an album worthy of mention in the same breath of air as many of the Bay Area classics that the band grew up with. Adds David Perri (BW&BK Magazine): “At this point, Ashes of Eden fans already in the know are the lucky ones: when those people nostalgically look back to the initial stages of this decade, they’ll be able to proudly claim (as we’re all endearingly prone to doing) that they were there first, before Ashes of Eden broke through.

The Human: Conditioned is now available in Canada through Prodisk Records and worldwide via the internet.