Music
The best kept secret in music
Press
"REMEMBER the name because you'll be hearing a hell of a lot about Beauty To Ashes in the coming year. With post-hardcore/emo/screamo or whatever it's called this week being the current hot potato, 'Reproduce the Common Practice' should see the California five-piece making friends and influencing people at an alarming rate, and in this case it's completely deserved.
Forget Finch, Hundred Reasons and the rest of the emo-little pussies, Beauty To Ashes are the real deal. Reminiscent of Thrice and Recover but with the melodic sheen of Thursday and the maniac punk energy of Refused, the phrase 'livewire' seems woefully inadequate to describe the sheer explosive power offered here. Emo's second wave has just found a new spearhead."
- Mark Griffiths (Kerrang) - Kerrang! Magazine
"Intense and passionate, Beauty To Ashes play hardcore that has a little bit of everything. Heavy punk rock beats and guitar riffs peruse the entire CD titled, "Reproduce The Common Practice". The sing songy chorus of "Protocol To Perfection", combined with poppy riffs make the song very indie / emo sounding. The bands Orange County roots shine through in "How To Put Out A Fire With Gasoline". The West Coast punk influenced vocals remind me of Unwritten Law. "Candy Apple Smile" is probably the catchiest song I have heard all year. It is EXTREMELY reminiscent of NOFX's "Linoleum", but alot harder and less annoying. Last, but not least, at the end of the disc, Beauty To Ashes adds their own touch and a HUGE breakdown to "We Are 138" by The Misfits. One could argue that if it isn't broken don't fix it. However, in my humble opinion, any band that covers The Misfits deserves some recognition (with the exception of Boy Sets Fire and Brother's Keeper). Beauty To Ashes mix it up alot and I find myself comparing them to pop punk all over the place. Somehow, the band manages to maintain a plain old, old school hardcore attitude in mind and music. This is a fun album."
666jayne - IntoObscurity.com
"The west coast has a reputation for producing too much slow, drudgy metalcore with little inspiration or originality. However, Southern California's "Beauty to Ashes" manage to break out of that mold, producing an album that is certainly metal influenced, but undeniably hardcore. Fast and punchy, "Reproducing the Common Practice" blends hardcore, metal, and even some pop punk, making for an album that stands out even amidst an overcrowded sea of similar bands. The album does lose a little steam towards the end, and the cover of the Misfits' "We Are 138" needs to go, but overall it's a solid record with a lot of creative riffs and interesting, well placed samples. This band has a lot of potential, especially if they can pull of an explosive live show."
- Centerfuse.net
"Brand new full length from Southern California melodic hardcore outfit-Beauty to Ashes. This album hits you hard in the gut and knocks you to the floor with it's melodies and slamming hardcore rhythms. The album starts out hard with "Bystandards of a Lifestyle Obsession" and continues on until the well known BTA melodic input kicks in and you are fast singing along. These guys are unlike most bands in the genre and they mix hardcore, punk rock, and some metal in for an amazing ride. Pick this album up today if you are growing tired of all the metal bands that sound just like everything else."
I give it ***** (out of 5)---Brandon
- IndieVisionMusic.com
"In the Silence We Fight", Beauty To Ashes debut e.p. was one of the most innovative records I had heard in 2001, though with its sparse six tracks, I was left begging for more. Now, with the release of their full length, "Reproduce The Common Practice" I am, at least for a time, satiated. Though not as mosh heavy as "In The Silence", this record is still a very noble effort with a potent dose of harsh to heavenly vox, brutal yet beautiful riffs and thought provoking lyrics. I am reminded of a mix of Avenged Sevenfold, Snapcase and AFI but at the same time Beauty To Ashes are so distinct and individual that even those comparisons aren't really accurate as the band really covers alot of different ground here. Tracks like "Chronicles Of Life", "Bystandards Of A Lifestyle Obsession" and "Vertigo" all are straight up dancelfloor classics with lots of circle pit parts and breakdowns that will have going Shinobi in your living room. My favorite track though is definitely "Candy Apple Smile" which makes me think of Shai Hulud's cover of NOFX's "Linoleum" on the "Whole New Level of Sickness" split with Another Victim a few years back. I swear you will not be able to get this song out of your head for days; so catchy, so good. I also had recieved a tour sampler from Alex and it contained a number entitled "Chase The Scarecrow" which I really enjoyed but was cut from this record for reasons unknown. Yet, these are petty grievances in light of the awesome tracks contained on "Reproduce The Common Practice" and with a great layout >and packaging job to boot, there really is no reason for you not to pick up this fine release."
- HardcoreMusic.com
Discography
Beauty To Ashes - The Robotic Conversations
Release date June 2004 Pluto Records
Beauty To Ashes - Reproduce the Common Practice
Release Date September 17, 2002 Pluto Records
Beauty To Ashes - In the silence we fight EP *out of print
Release Date October 2001 Vindicated Records
Beauty To Ashes - demo/ep; *out of print
Release Date January 2001; independent release
Beauty To Ashes - 1st demo; *out of print
Release Date February 2000; independent release
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
Making their official start in the January 2000, these five Southern California natives have come to offer something creative to the ever-growing and innovative hardcore scene. Their style has been described as metal/punk influenced hardcore, although their influences are not limited to these specific genres. Always trying to out do themselves, they bring something fresh but at the same time something "old school" to the scene. Some have even called their style "the future of hard music". While that may be a great compliment to the band, they just continue to write music that they love and that allows them to explore their musical boundaries.
In their short existence, the band has been featured on nearly a dozen nationally distributed compilations in both the US and Canada. Including the "I'm Your Biggest Fan Vol 2" from Tooth and Nail Records which features an unreleased track from the band. *(see discography for details). Their first EP release in October 2001 entitled "In the Silence We Fight" (Vindicated Records) has drawn positive attention from many critics in the hardcore and punk community. "Straight out honest opinion: I love this album and the type of hardcore they play. It's a brutal mix of Melodic singing with Metallic hardcore and traces of punk," says indievisionmusic.com's main editor.
The highly anticipated second release "Reproduce the Common Practice" from Pluto Records have proven to be the catalyst for innovation in future of punk and hardcore music. "These guys are unlike most bands in the genre and they mix hardcore, punk rock, and some metal in for an amazing ride."
Also completing their first national tour in the summer of 2002, they were privileged to share the stage with such national acts as Eighteen Visions, Throwdown, Taken, Bleeding Through, Hopesfall, and many others. Following up their summer tour, the band continued to burn the highway with winter tour 2002 bringing long time friends Genosha. They have also been featured in magazines such as Kerrang, AMP, HM Magazine, Rockpile, Outburn, Performer, and numerous independent zines.
Their main goals are to positively impact people's lives and keep playing music that they love. The band philosophy has always been, "If we can get people into our "politics" because they like our music that's great. And if we can get people into our music because they like our "politics" that's great too." Refusing to be held down by the negativity of the world today, they take pride in upholding integrity of their beliefs while still maintaining open mindedness towards other people's opinions. Their attitude has always been to stay true to themselves and the music that they love to play. These five individuals look forward to the hard work it will take to keep them on top of their game. And it's that kind of attitude that had established Beauty to Ashes as one of the most passionate and intense bands in the scene today.
Ready to take on the world, Beauty to Ashes is looking forward to a persevering future of touring and winning fans over all over the world. They are not willing to be held in by their own musical walls, so expect them to push their style and innovation to the limit. The future is coming.
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