Prepare yourself for some beautiful heaviness. Ragana, the adventurous and emotive black metal duo from the Pacific Northwest, have joined forces with Portland indie-drone guy Drowse to make Ash Souvenir, a collaborative album that they debuted at the Roadburn Festival in the Netherlands last year. Ash Souvenir is coming next month, and we've already heard an excerpt of the opening track "In Eternal Woods Pts. 1-3." Today, we get to hear the album's last song, its stunner of a title track.
"Ash Souvenir" starts out like an indie rock song -- restrained guitar-twinkles, hushed vocals, occasional cymbal-rolls. Over nearly eight minutes, it builds into something much bigger and more intense, but it takes its time. I've never heard Ragana drift this close to slowcore, and they're really good at it. Drowse's voice appears on this song, too, and his influence is a little more apparent on this track. Here's what Ragana member Maria says about it:
"Ash Souvenir" is a song dedicated to my mom. I got to play her this song before she died, and she really liked it. At the end, she is all I can think about when I say, "There is nothing to lose" over and over until it’s a meditation. The words poured through me from my mom somehow. I think it means we don’t take anything with us when we die, we don’t have to worry about things, just people and mountains.
Listen below.
Ash Souvenir is out 11/14 on the Flenser.
