Rock and Christianity are incompatible, right? If yes, then get ready to reconsider your views. Alternative rock, post-grunge, hardcore and Christian themes - all this is organically combined in the work of Ashes Remain. In the compositions, the group touches on Christian themes.
History of Ashes Remain
In the 1990s, Josh Smith and Ryan Nalepa, the future founders of Ashes Remain, met. They both grew up in religious families. The first meeting took place at a Christian youth summer camp, during a service. Both guys were interested in music, which was one of the factors that brought them together. The guys wanted to create their own group and soon such an opportunity appeared.
Smith received a position at a church in Baltimore, Maryland, which was near Ryan's home. It was a great success and a real chance for both to fulfill their old dream - the creation of a musical group. In 2001, the musical rock band Ashes Remain appeared. Over the next two years, Rob Tahan, Ben Kirk and Ben Ogden joined the team. This was the first composition of the group.
The beginning of the musical path of the group
The band's debut album, Lose the Alibis, was released in the summer of 2003. According to the data provided by the musicians, the circulation of the album was 2 CD copies.
In the same year, the group began to actively maintain pages on social networks. First of all, they talked about winning the Philadelphia Regional Christian Talent Competition. Later they announced that they were going to take part in the second round of the competition. It was supposed to take place on September 24, 2003 in Charlotte (North Carolina).
The group devoted its further activities to concerts, performances on radio, television and preparing the release of their debut album. In addition, in February 2004, Ashes Remain announced an interview for the Baltimore radio station 98 Rock. The guys talked about their work and plans for the future.
A month after the interview at the radio station, the musicians decided to please the fans again. On their website, they announced the release of a special DVD. It collected videos of concert performances of the group. At that time, the disc had already been sent to post-production, and soon it went on sale. But that was not all. It was then that the rockers officially announced the start of work on their second music album.
But it was preceded by changes. On September 4, 2004, bassist Ben Ogden left the band after three years. Instead, John Highley came. His departure was not associated with any scandal. It was a voluntary, deliberate decision. This is confirmed by the fact that a former guitarist recommended Highley to his place.
Release of the second album Ashes Remain
The beginning of the preparation of the second album became known back in 2004. However, the official release took place only three years later - on March 13, 2007. The studio album was called Last Day Breathing on March. It was available on CD and was also available on the internet. The album was warmly received by the fans. However, he did not take a leading position in any of the charts, but received excellent reviews from critics.
After the release of the second album, the Ashes Remain team took up its "promotion". They performed with concerts in different cities, even organized a small tour. The rooms where they played were even more filled with people. The number of "fans" of the team is rapidly increasing.
Third album
In early 2010, Ashes Remain signed with the record label Fair Trade Services. A year later, on August 23, 2011, the musicians released their third studio album What I've Become with him. The new collection consisted of 12 songs and was recognized by the music industry. The album peaked at numbers 25 and 18 on the Billboard Christian and Heatseeker Albums charts. The team also took part in the radio broadcast. The songs were played on Christian Rock and Rap radio waves across the country.
The success of the third album, What I've Become, the group secured with their concert activities. Moreover, there were even joint tours. In 2012, the musicians performed together with the Fireflight rock band, which wrote songs on Christian themes.
On November 14, 2012, on their Facebook page, the musicians announced the release of a Christmas mini-album. The release took place on November 20.
Release of the band's fourth studio album
The band's latest album, Let the Light In, was released on October 27, 2017. In 2018, it was supplemented with two more songs: Captain and All I Need.
Ashes Remain: present
Today Ashes Remain is a rock band known in many circles. Christian rock (as a musical direction) may cause some bewilderment. However, this is not new to the American listener. The musicians claim that their songs are based on well-known feelings and experiences. After all, almost everyone knows what sadness, longing, lack of hope and a sense of hopelessness are. And also the feeling that you are your own worst enemy, that no one understands you.
In the end, many know firsthand about the feeling of all-consuming viscous darkness. With their lyrics, Ashes Remain wanted to give hope to those who are in a similar state. Show that there is a bright future ahead. The path to it is not always short and easy. But the one who does not give up will definitely reach the goal and life will get better. And the musicians, in turn, go through this path together with the "fans". Every day, in every song and together with God.
The band's compositions are about experience, faith, doubts and the healing of the soul.
"Fans" remain loyal to the team and hope to wait for new songs and concerts. Indeed, at the moment, Ashes Remain released their last song, unfortunately, back in 2018.
Interesting facts about the team
The single Without You has a special meaning for Josh Smith. At 15, he lost his older brother in a car accident. The vocals for the song were accidentally recorded on brother Josh's birthday;
But the song Change My Life literally dreamed of Rob Tahan. According to him, the musician saw them perform this song on stage.
