Six Organs Of Admittance - 'Shelter From The Ash' (Drag City) Released 12/11/07

In the liner notes to ‘Shelter From The Ash’, Six Organs of Admittance chief Ben Chasny thanks his uncle for introducing him to the wailsome joys of Iron Maiden as a nipper. No wonder. We’re used to encountering Chasny as something of a quintessential cult artist, a lone troubadour touring the world’s tinier venues, dispatching his compelling yet undeniably demanding acoustic opuses to folks with an above-average attention span whilst the mainstream’s kept a respectful distance. His fourth full-length release under the Six Organs banner, though, finds the revered guitar-picker referencing his heavy metal years by turning up the volume with mind-blowing aplomb that at its most bombastic tips its hardhat to past masters of mountain-levelling riffage.

Enthusing recent gig reports have spoken of a brand new Six Organs experience consisting of Chasny, accompanied by fresh main squeeze Elisa Ambrogio of Magic Markers fame, subjecting stacks of amps to some unusually stern punishment in what can only be described as a rarely harmonious union between trad-minded folk balladry and psychedelically frazzled guitar heroics. ‘Shelter From The Ash’ matches the immense promise of the live shows fully. For this is some seriously heavy shit, yet it’s nimble-fingered and light in its step also. Although the default mood is enchantingly grand starkness, you’re never far from a moment of breathtaking prettiness.

Think of a crusty old folkie whispering desolate tunes dating back to the dawn of time when dragons, hobgoblins and such roamed the earth collaborating with pulverising fuzz overload of a full-blown denim & leather 70’s hard rock axe-master, and you can just about envision the earth-trembling treats on offer here. Sure, the album’s something of a time-warp, but ‘Shelter from the Ash’ manages to sidestep retroisms to achieve a genuinely timeless glow. Of the highlights, the title track toys with turning into ‘All Along the Watchtower’ before landing in the muscular vicinity of Chasny’s high-profile part-time job band Comets on Fire, whilst ‘Strangled Road’ combines weary balladry and Neil Young-ian amp abuse to hypnotic effect.

Elsewhere, ‘Alone With The Alone’ and ‘Final Wing’ are hypnotic alt. folk mantras, ‘Goddess Atonement’ rocks a sideburn-scorching prog-folk template and the refrain of the monumental ‘Coming To Get You’ could be either a promise or a threat; it’s hard to say for certain with this near-magical mixture of the sinister and the achingly tender.