Daily Inspiration: Meet Awake in Ashes

Today we’d like to introduce you to Awake in Ashes. Them and their team share their story with us below:

Awake in Ashes started off in late 2018. Michael and Dominic worked together and sat in the cubicle next to each other providing medical software support at an office in Broomfield, CO . They hit it off immediately, discovering each other’s musical abilities and interests. Both from previous bands, from the Chicago and Los Angeles areas, respectively. After a single jam session, it was decided. “Let’s start a band and see what we can do with this!”

We wanted to find musicians with an experience similar to ours and we knew we needed artists that could keep up. We started off with ads on craigslist and social media. We tried out a few different musicians and met some interesting characters! Mid-December 2018 we received a response from a drummer in Aurora. We went out to meet Alex Arroyo. Barely old enough to get into a bar, this kid had talent. We were trying people out with Killswitch Engage’s “End of Heartache” and Bullet for My Valentine’s “Waking the Demon” to get a good starting point for skill. Alex nailed both songs flawlessly. We started playing a song Dom had written (now our first song on our album appropriately titled “The Beginning”) and Alex picked it up no problem. Things were hitting just right. Maybe a month or so later Nathen Emerson responded to our need for a bassist. Nate showed up in a work truck full of tools and gear and was ready to throw down. It wasn’t too long before we were jamming at his place and things were getting started!

From there, we focused on writing and exploring what we could do together. We were digging the creative process and putting together some ideas we were all pretty proud of. Meanwhile, we still needed a singer. We continued putting out ads and looking around. We tried out quite a few singers and it was an adventure! We had one guy come through that we swore was either homeless or was on the lamb. A few were really good but didn’t click with us the way we needed. For a year we searched constantly, all while writing and refining our music. Then Alex comes out of the blue one day with a guy who wants to try out.

Alex frequented the liquor store around the corner from his house and knew Gage decently well as the guy behind the counter who listened to metal. The two would chat about music each time Alex would visit. One day Alex asked Gage if he knew anyone who could front a metal band, and lo and behold, Gage is a singer! They exchanged numbers and Alex requested clips from Gage of his singing, which after reviewing, Alex was sold. He then pitched Gage to the band and we held tryouts. Things felt right and we had work to do.

We finally had a full band and half an album already written, with tons of ideas to work with. We spent the first half of 2020 getting show ready with Gage (and watching the world crumble to covid). At this time there weren’t many opportunities to play and then we booked our first Gig and it was a spectacular one! A metalcore show with The Great Contempt and Saints of Never After at Trailside Saloon, courtesy of Swinging Noose Productions. The show went really well and there was a pretty decent crowd. We were impressed by the other bands that played and the sense of community we experienced. What a great way to kick off our introduction to the scene.

Being during the heavy lockdowns for covid, there wasn’t much as far as shows went so we decided to dedicate our time to put together some demos. We recorded our own tracks (more times than I can remember) and put together our own music video for our track “The Beginning”. It can still be viewed on our Youtube with the original demo recording we did.

2021 was a good year for us, despite the setbacks of COVID. We started playing out again as soon as we were able, even before the lockdowns started lifting. Our good friend Leonardo Leonardo invited us to play with them at Lost Lake for our first show of the year in January. From there, we took off playing about once to twice a month around Denver. We got to work with tons of new venues such as Herman’s Hideaway, Lost Lake, Moe’s BBQ, Your Mom’s House and some others. Both Gage and Nate were married to their now wives! We made quite a few friends in the local scene and continued to produce our own music. We put out an EP called “The Beginning” in June of 2021 that was essentially better recordings and masters of the 4 tracks we currently had out. We removed our demo tracks from streaming services at this time. We actually had to drop out of a show in August with our good friends in Sin Eater due to covid. Each of our members got sick and had varying levels of pain and illness. It was a rough time, but we pulled through. We also shot a music video for our track “51 Days” in October, all while working on finishing recording, mixing and mastering our full album.

As a band, our motto has always been “Be the band other bands want to play with.” We want to perpetuate a sense of community and accomplishment within that community. To that end, we try to “Gas Up the Homies” whenever applicable. If you scroll through our social media, you’ll notice a large portion of it is us promoting other bands and musicians in the scene. We believe that you succeed by helping others succeed. This can be seen throughout any successful organization and is equally applicable to our local music scene. We regularly run a #NewMusicFriday post where we share recently released music by local talent. We promote the local music further by promoting our own Spotify playlist titled “Colorado Bangers” on our Spotify profile and regularly curate it to showcase new local music. It is also collaborative so other artists are free to add their own music. When we play shows, we tend to record all bands present and create professionally edited videos of this footage for the bands, free of charge. We like to network with other local musicians to work on potential projects and help build off each other.

In June of 2021, we were deemed a “Critical Band of the Colorado Music Scene” by Swinging Noose Productions and presented the “2021 Hanson What’s Good Bitch?” award, which was an honor for us all. The award reads, “In recognition of excellence for displaying everyday selfless promotions, support, and inclusion. Your band represents what Michael Hanson lived by and supported. Thank you for being a critical band in the Colorado Music Scene and Community!” We are proud to have been part of such a great community.

December 03, 2021 we released our first Full-Length album titled “Rebirth in Remission”, fully self-funded and produced. There was a release show to follow at our home away from home Trailside Saloon, alongside our great friends in Humanity and Leonardo Leonardo. It was a great accomplishment for us and a great precursor to things to come!

2022 we hit the ground running, working on new material for our live shows. Spent some of the cold months training up and then we’ve been playing out once or twice a month since March. We currently have a professional live concert video in the works from our show at Antero Hall on June 20th. We supported the homies in Theocide as they were touring the area. It was a great show. Filmed by Chris Tracy Photography. Edited and produced by us. We are currently working on a single as well to be released later this Summer. Our next show is September 22nd at Herman’s Hideaway and it’s going to be with some of the best bands in the scene. Can’t wait!

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
We held tryouts for band members and though we got the instruments together pretty quick, it took us a year of trial and error and a plethora of singers to find the right one. We had some interesting characters come to try out. One guy showed up and we could’ve swore he was either homeless or on the lamb. He also had an infatuation with KORN that was less than bearable. We had some really good singers try out, but they ended up not really fitting in. We are pretty sure we had some candidates with addiction issues as well. When we finally found Gage, the chemistry was fantastic. Things felt right.

Once we finally found a singer, COVID hit everywhere and we, as most bands in the scene, had trouble finding gigs. Most of 2020 was spent indoors, but that time wasn’t wasted as we were consistently writing and practicing. We wanted to hit the scene hard once we did.

In 2020 we lost our practice space because rent was going up everywhere so we had to hunt for another spot. We ended up doing hourly rentals at places like Dog House and Band Cave, but there was no place that had a dedicated spot we could rent as most places were occupied. We eventually ended up splitting a studio with a music coach at Soundstructure Studios downtown. We did this for about 6 months before our bassist bought a house in Gilcrest. We’ve been practicing there ever since. It’s quite a drive for all of us, but we do it for the band and the music we create.

We had a pretty disappointing setback in the Fall of 2021. We were lined up to work with Kuma’s Corner Denver to release an Awake in Ashes Burger of the Month. We met with the restaurant promoter and put together our dream burger (which was a play on a Jalapeno Popper with Raspberry sauce) and a befitting side of Mac n’ Cheese to match. We were also going to originally have our record release show at Kuma’s. About a month later, the promoter ended up leaving the restaurant and things were kind of scattered for them. After a couple of weeks of reaching out to them, they finally confirmed that the Burger of the Month had to be put on hold and the show was not going to be possible. Luckily Zack Beecroft of SNP came in the clutch and was down to throw the show at Trailside Saloon. It was then scheduled for December 3rd. We were bummed about Kuma’s, but we weren’t going to let it stop what we were trying to do.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Awake in Ashes is a Progressive Metalcore band based out of Denver. We’ve been around since 2018 but hit the scene in 2020. We are known for our unique blend of sound and our tenacity.

It’s hard for us to put a name to our sound because we all have a variation of tastes and play styles. Each member of the band comes from a different background and has had varying levels of experience as a musician. In this band, we want to write metal, but we don’t limit ourselves. We settled on Progressive Metalcore because at its core we want our music to hit in the way that only metal can, but we draw inspiration from everywhere and try to push ourselves outside of our bounds. For example, our song “Sengo” from our album “Rebirth in Remission” is about a Samurai who wanders the post-apocalyptic wasteland, bearing the weight of a cursed blade who hungers for souls, while he himself has an insatiable thirst for ramen. The song starts out with a Japanese guitar riff akin to old action movies but soon breaks down into a hip-hop/metal guitar riff. Afterward, the song goes clean and switches into some slow jazz, just before finishing out with the strong metal guitars at the end. We want to push the boundaries.

Our motto is “Be the band other bands want to play with”. We bring this with us everywhere, be it to the stage and our friends and fans or to our social media and virtual platforms. We are proud of the sense of community we perpetuate. Receiving the Michael Hanson award was a great accomplishment for us. We’re also proud of the self-produced and published media we’ve created. Our YouTube channel is full of content we’ve created, be it Lyric Videos, Live Concert Footage, Music Videos or Memes! We recorded, mixed, mastered and published our own music. We do all of our own video editings. We hire local photographers and artists to do work for us and we use that content to help promote ourselves as well as the Denver and Colorado Music Scene.

“Rebirth in Remission” our first full-length album was probably our biggest accomplishment so far. We’ve been working on the tracks on that album since our inception. We fully recorded, mixed, mastered and produced it ourselves. We commissioned the artwork from Muzaki Studios. We designed it cover to cover (with a lyric book and special thanks inside) and funded it ourselves. It can be found on all your favorite streaming platforms and physical copies can be purchased from our Bandcamp and Wix websites.

What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
Tenacity and Appreciation

“Do the damn thing!” – A Great Man

We are determined to push forward and make a name for ourselves, all while bringing up the people around us. We want to succeed by helping others succeed. We recognize greatness and look for greatness to recognize us as well. We do this together as a community.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://awakeinashes.bandcamp.com/releases
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/awakenashes/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AwakeNAshes
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-Rmgi0dwfunaz5Ldk38aig
• SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/user-38549805-572080183
• Other: https://awakeinashes.wixsite.com/awakeinashes 

Image Credits
Chris Tracy Photography Trent Jacobs Penny & Dime Yazzi Photography Simone Girardot