Go backstage with The Music and receive FREE:

  • Exclusive members-only editorial, charts
  • Our subscriber-only newsletter
  • Members only competitions to win tickets, experiences and more
  • Access to our street press archives
  • First access to our exclusive limited edition vinyl variants

Thank you for being a part of our community! Enter your email address as verification and you'll be taken backstage right away.

Please ensure that you provide a valid email address.

Album Review: The Dirty Earth - Ascendancy

StarStarStarStar

"Fans of early Judas Priest, Janis Joplin and Led Zeppelin, take note."

Autonomic, The Dirty Earth's first full-length, is a brooding coffee-on-a-Sunday kinda album.

While it would have been easy for the band to follow their formula from the 2013 Road To Ruin EP, they have instead opted for something much more uplifting and bright on Ascendancy. Mandy Newton's soulful wails and Raff Iacurto's scorching leads are transcendent, but the real heroes of the record are bass and drum duo Darren Staite and Leon Cadden. Cruel World's Sabbath-crawl will send chills down your spine, while Down To The River swells and blasts with passion. Fans of early Judas Priest, Janis Joplin and Led Zeppelin, take note.