ASG Pulls Us In

By Tankboy in Arts & Entertainment on Mar 12, 2008 10:03PM

While we're fans of Fu Manchu, we were going to skip their appearance at Double Door tonight. They always put on a dependable show, and we've never been let down by Scott Hill and his band of skater stoner-rockers, but every once in a while even we need to stay in and take an evening off to relax. Well, at least that was our plan.

This morning, serendipitously, opener ASG's album, Win Us Over, made its way into our review queue and we haven't stopped spinning it all day. They play a blend of driving metal similar to Fu Manchu, but where Fu Manchu chugs along, ASG chooses to blast forward with the throttle thrown wide open. Jason Shi's singing slips easily from a pleasing glide to a paint rattling shriek, and the chorus of "Win Us Over" is an excellent example of this aas his larynx shreds the word "win" before adopting a castrati-Gregorian delivery for the remainder of the lyric. Throughout the album the band plays along with this dichotomy, creating slab-like songs supported by a soothing latticework of melodies.

MP3: ASG "Right Before Death"
MP3: ASG "Low End Insight"

ASG plays with Fu Manchu and The Burning Brides tonight at Double Door, 1572 N Milwaukee, 9 p.m., $15, 21+