ASHES dIVIDE - Keep Telling Myself It’s Alright Review

Posted by Dan Marsicano on 04.09.2008

Billy Howerdel, guitarist for A Perfect Circle, returns to the music scene with Keep Telling Myself It's Alright, a record in which Howerdel plays most of the instruments. Howerdel has gotten many accolades for his guitar work, but is that enough to drive the album to success?

The Band

Billy Howerdel-Vocals, Guitar, Bass, Keyboard, Piano
Josh Freese-Drums
Devo Keenan-Cello


The Track Listing

1. Stripped Away-3:43
2. Denial Waits-3:36
3. Too Late-3:59
4. Forever Can Be-4:48
5. Defamed-3:39
6. Enemies-3:17
7. A Wish-2:53
8. Ritual-3:56
9. The Stone-3:49
10. The Prey-4:27
11. Sword-6:29





The Review

Billy Howerdel is a name that most fans of Tool and A Perfect Circle have heard of. Howerdel famously worked as a guitar technician for Tool in 1996 after the release of Ænima before forming A Perfect Circle in 1999, which included Tool frontman Maynard James Keenan. The band would go on to record three successful albums and tour the world before they went on hiatus in 2006.

This hiatus allowed Howerdel to pursue a solo career, and with the help of Josh Freese, producer Danny Lohner, and a collaboration between a few fellow musicians, ASHES dIVIDE came into fruition and Keep Telling Myself It’s Alright was the result. The album is similar to A Perfect Circle, but in a sense, is also radically different from what APC was doing in the early part of the 00’s.

Howerdel has always been praised for his guitar work, and Keep Telling Myself It’s Alright is no different. Howerdel is able to keep the music grounded, with his guitar adding to the dark and emotional lyrical content. His riffing can go from quick to steadfast to calm ambivalence all in the same song. The same is said about his bass work, which sounds up front and organic in the mix and drives many of the song’s melodies.

The keyboard/piano is a tool that Howerdel uses several times to his advantage to increase the tension. “Sword” is a perfect example of this, with a single piano playing a beautiful, yet repetitive, piece with Devo Keenan’s cello following along with the piano in the background. The song then builds steadily into some of the heaviest playing on the whole album. The piano ends the song the same way it began; depressing, repetitive, and magnificent.

Keep Telling Myself It’s Alright mixes a solid blend of alterative rock bordering on hard rock melodies with softer, acoustic driven songs that could almost count as ballads…just very depressing ones. “Stripped Away” hits you like a Shinkansen Bullet Train (yeah, I just used that reference), while impressing you with the way that he can use a guitar to create a moodful sonic landscape. “Enemies” is another fast one with Howerdel almost shouting the vocals and Freese pounding the shit out of the drums, leading to the fastest ending of any song on the album.

Most people have heard of the single “The Stone,” which is one of the best songs on the album. It is hard hitting and has a few great solos packed into its tight four minute running length. “The Prey,” which features Alkaline Trio’s Matt Skiba, keeps the intensity at a high level and perfectly leads into the epic closer “Sword.”

There are a few songs that, like I said earlier, could be considered “ballads” in the loosest sense of the word. “Forever Can Be” starts off with an acoustic guitar before the whole band comes in, with the song showing off Howerdel’s vocal skills. “A Wish” is a short number that has a dreamy atmosphere boosted by keyboards and slowly-played electric guitar.

I do want to highlight one particular characteristic about the album that I have just briefly touched on; Howerdel’s vocals. In a recent interview with Matt Pinfield, Howerdel told Pinfield that doing vocals was a challenge and that he practiced in his studio by himself for a while to try to get them down pat. I think all the work that Howerdel put in definitely paid off, as he has a deep, airy quality to his vocals that allow him to hit everything from an angry shout to high notes. You can hardly tell that this is his first time doing lead vocals.

It took me a while to get into Keep Telling Myself It’s Alright, as the album has so much going on in it that it takes multiple listens to really grasp what Howerdel has put on display. Some people may find themselves disappointed that there aren’t more songs in the vein of “The Stone” and “Enemies.” The album is softer than expected, but that is where Howerdel seems to be the most comfortable. Whether ASHES dIVIDE is a solo project or the beginning of a long term band, Howerdel has made an album that could make it as big as any of the albums from APC. While we were all sad that APC went on hiatus, at least it gave a talented musician like Howerdel a chance to spread his wings and show off his songwriting skills.

The 411: Keep Telling Myself It's Alright is a natural progression for Billy Howerdel as a songwriter, as the album is almost like an evolution of A Perfect Circle's sound. Howerdel shows he has what it takes to be the frontman and leader of a band, as his vocals are a highlight of the album. While I would of liked some more harder driving songs, Howerdel keeps the album interesting for its 44 minute running length. It may take you a few listens to really "get" Keep Telling Myself It's Alright, but once you do, you will be glad you took the time to digest the album.

Final Score:  8.0   [ Very Good ]